To Say I Love You
by Black White and Superstitious
Summary: Len Kagamine feels a little homesick. He left Wales a couple of weeks ago, and he's no good at making new friends. But who's the tealette who everyone keeps telling him to avoid? She looks troubled, and she has no friends either. Maybe he can relate. MikuxLen. My first fanatic fiction, feel free to help and point to the mistakes OuO rated T for paranoia, caution and truthfulness.
1. Only at This School

**HEADS UP: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED FOR YOU READERS**

**BECAUSE OF THE STUPID AUTO CORRECT ON THIS GODDAMN KINDLE WE WERE REALLY SET BACK**

**ENJOY SOMETHING WITH A LOWER MISTAKE COUNT**

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**Len 's POV**

"How are my two _favorite _twins doing?" Luka asked as she set her tray next to mine. "I got a detention from first period and I am attending a rat's execution in a few weeks," I sighed. I picked up the otherrange on my tray and handed it to Rin.

It was my first week at Vocaloid High, the school of arts. I did a good job in most of my classes except for acting. It's not that easy, okay? This is the first time I've ever been assigned to act.

"Len! Grandma will kill you! She wants you to do your best in acting, since she did it herself!" Rin scolded as she tore into her orange. I sighed. "It's not that I'm doing a terrible job," I argued. "I just got confused about the lines. Then one thing led to another. I got into an argument with Meiko Sensei, then she gave me a detention slip." Frustrated, I took slip of paper out of my pocket and stared at the writing.

It was silky cursive, but she didn't even have my name written. She simply wrote "the male twin". "She doesn't even know my name," I groaned. I slumped in my seat. Luka shrugged. "Meiko Sensei doesn't know a lot of names. She doesn't know my first name, and you're very unfortunate that there aren't any other twins in the school. Maybe you could've gotten away with it." She snatched the milk off of my tray. "Hey! I was going to drink that!" "Whoops. Got you confused with Rin," she said. She set the milk back out on my tray. Then she grabbed the carton from Rin, who shot Luka a look, but she let it go anyway. The two were like best friends.

I sighed. I had no friends that Luka had not introduced to us when we first came to Vocaloid High. I had a best friend back in Wales, Oliver, but we hadn't talked much since the big move. Rin was totally fine with leaving behind her friends, because she could visit during the holidays. And through Facebook. But I barely knew how to _make _an account.

"Are you implying I'm feminine?" I asked, staring at her. Simultaneously, Rin said "Are you implying I'm masculine?" Luka laughed. "I'm implying that I get confused when I see two blond heads all the time." With that she rubbed both of our heads and drank Rin's milk.

The weird thing I noticed about Luka was that most of her friends were male, with the exception of Rin and Rion. (And perhaps Akita-san?) It was funny, how Rin and Rion had very similar names. I had a name similar to Leon's, so because of these similarities, and the fact that we were the only twins in the school, we were mainly referred to as "the twins." And we were kind of famous to the school. Our ability to sing and play instruments wasn't that different from many of the students, and yet it was appraised...probably just Rin's great social skills and her other amazing talents?

Rin was extremely charismatic. She joined the cheerleading squad, the soccer team, and signed up for a charity concert. People said she was funny and cute, thought I don't know why. She can be more vicious than a rabid raccoon. Her singing was also really good. She played the violin and she acted extremely well. She was the perfect socialite.

Me? Awkward. I guess I smile a lot. And a few of the cheerleaders find me...ugh...cute. I used to play soccer back in Wales, but I didn't want to do it here. I felt homesick. I sighed again. If I could just get my parents to send for Oliver this weekend, I wouldn't feel so upset.

Of course, I couldn't do that if I couldn't figure out where he moved. Both of our Dads got promotions before the move, so they had to move as well.

"You know, speaking of blonds, aren't you guys supposed to be stupid?" Gakupo interjected. Rin shot him a look and kicked him in the shin. She could put her soccer skills into anything she wanted. And she would always come out on top. "Get the message?" She asked, folding her arms. "Got it," he breathed, wincing. Luka giggled.

Once that was over, I sank back into thought. I think Oliver said something about London when he mentioned his Dad's promotion. I was always scanning the little details; sometimes I figured I would make a good detective.

Geez. "Ollie" and I had been best friends since the first grade. I remembered it like it was yesterday. It made me feel sad because he was like my brother.

_"Class, this is Len Kagamine. He moved here from Tokyo and I would adore if you'd be kind to him." _

_ Was anyone kind? They seemed scary to a six-year-old kid. Not a lot of them had black or brown hair. Some had red hair, and some were blond like me._

_ At recess, I wanted to play with some of the kids. But they didn't. "Can I play with you guys?" I asked. Students looked at me like I was crazy. "You talk funny," they said bluntly. "I'm Japanese," I explained. "No, you don't look like you're from Japan," they said. Then they walked away._

_ "Sailor Boy," someone taunted. I turned to address who had said that to me, but I found that they hadn't. In fact, they had said it to another boy. He was blond, like me, but he was wearing a Sea Captain's hat. He was bandaged in various places. He was shoved against the tree by someone taller than him. Other kids were laughing, but he kept a straight face._

_ Immediately I thought he was super brave for that alone. They were bullying him, so I walked over. "What'd he do?" I demanded. They turned to me and started telling _me _really rude things. The kid that they'd been picking on stared at me, like he was confused. After the bullies left to pick on someone else, the "Sailor Boy" spoke. _

_ "Why did you do that?" He asked. "They're rude buggers. They're going to be after you, know." I swallowed when he said this. I know it's childish to think it even when I was that young, but I thought that they were going to watch me through the rest of my life. "My name's Oliver," he continued, as though he had never said anything. "My name is Len," I said. His brow knit together. "Is that short for...Allen?" I opened my mouth to say no, but I realized that the weird word "Allen" could actually be my name. "I don't know," I muttered. "Is Oliver short for something?"_

_ He shook his head. "Ollie is short for Oliver, though."_

"Len? We're leaving the cafeteria," Rin said. "Hmm? Oh. I was just thinking about something," I muttered. "Well, we kind of have to go to instruments class?" I flashed an apologetic smile. "I forgot we're in a school building," I laughed. Luka pulled me to my feet, proudly declaring, "this is actually an abandoned warehouse we turned into a school!"

Only a student from Vocaloid High School of Arts would be proud enough to say something like that.


	2. Mystery of the Year

Shrimpy: Uh...um...hello. I decided to go ahead and add another chapter because I have no life or anything important to do with it. I _could _ask you to pity me, but that's sad. So pity Len 's loneliness instead, 'kay?

**Instruments Class**

Sometimes I feel like a burden. If you went to my school, you'd know why. Kasane Sensei is a very sweet lady. She bought a piano and paid to have it placed in the room. Why? Because I played the piano. I didn't know how to play the viola or anything like that, so she decided to do it for me.

People seemed to show a pure hatred for the piano. Rion, who had ironically been placed in Instruments class with Rin and all her friends, had even tried to convince Kasane Sensei that I needed to learn to play another instruments-with an evil glare shot at the new piano, she mentioned a drum set.

Honestly, though? A drum set could cost a lot more. Picking up little details about small things, like I said.

"Alright. What I'm going to do right now is break the news gently," she said. She carefully watched the class for a minute, not saying anything. "Hatsune-san has returned from her trip. Due to a problem with the schedule and her documents, we had to move her to this period on Instruments class." A chorus of groans rang through the class. Rin perked up, confused. I knew what she was feeling because I felt the same.

"Kasane Sensei, who is Hatsune-san?" I asked. "Len, you're a pretty innocent person. Are you sure you want to know?" Luka whispered. What she said had the smallest amount of annoyance in it.

"Hatsune-san is a student here. I am aware that _my _students aren't very fond of her"-at that she glanced at the piano-"but there is no reason to feel the same." Her answer seemed vague. And at that I could tell exactly what kind of impact this girl had. It wasn't positive.

I felt eyes on me. Being the only student who feels uncomfortable about making a scene, I suppose I was the odd one out in this school. And the odd one out is the one that isn't usually in on the big secrets. I shut my mouth.

"At least Hatsune isn't usually in class," some student whispered. I stiffened.

_Even less chance to talk to her and see what they hate about her so much._

Why did it even matter to me? I didn't know her, and interrogating her for that was rude.

I'd just keep away.

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After sixth period, Gakupo swung by and started a conversation. "I heard you asked about Hatsune in Instruments today," he said, cutting to the point. "Yeah. Wait, how did that get around? Does news travel that fast here?"

"You probably didn't get the answer you were looking for," he said, ignoring me. I sighed. I did that a lot lately. The students here were really weird. I adjusted my tie. Who stands to wear that crap all day every day?

"I'm telling you this for your own good, but stay away from Hatsune. She isn't right in the head." I raised an eye brow. "Hatsune-san doesn't sound like it. The name sounds business-like." I gave up on the tie and shrugged.

"She even _looks _crazy pissed!" He exclaimed. "You look like a Japanese nobleman. But you act like a goofball. A lot," I argued. "Your point?" He demanded. He rubbed his temples. "I'm saying you don't judge a book by its cover," I sighed. "But you judge a movie by its rating on the back, and this age we live in is the age of movies." He held out his arms for emphasis. It unnerved me how people didn't react to the things that were said and done within the walls of the school. Lord knows what would happen if there was a murderer chasing me around. They might not even be able to tell I was dead until my corpse started to smell.

I shook my head. Of course they would tell. They would see it was the real deal when they noticed there was no cameraman and director trailing close behind.

But...wasn't that against the norm as well? Shouldn't the chase alone be enough to convince the students?

By the time I had realized that, I was deep in thought. How was Ollie doing without me right then? Who could replace me, the one who first befriended the quirky guy? I stared off into space. I hadn't noticed the warnings Gakupo had been scolding me about. Obviously, he was angry. There was a faint "see you later" and with that I was alone. I didn't mind the somewhat peacefulness that replaced him, though.


	3. How to Get in Trouble

**After School**

"Should I tell Grandma that you stayed behind to study?" Rin asked, her green eyes serious. "No. If she finds out sooner rather than later, maybe she won't be as angry as I thought she'd be," I replied.

Grandma was kind. She liked to cook for people, and she moved with us when we took off from Wales. Although, I'm sure she would have made it just fine. Grandma is really tough with the frying pan. But that's exactly why, even if she is kind, I'm afraid of the things she's capable of.

I sighed. Why couldn't I stop? I started remembering how in Wales me, Rin and Ollie would go to the park and play all sorts of pathetic games. Back then, there seemed to be too much time. Now, when I really wanted to go home and take a nap, I had detention.

Me and Rin parted ways at the end of the hall. The music room served as a detention room at the end of the day; unfortunate for the students that wanted to practice in thing there. I walked in, and then a man with yellow eyes glanced up at me. My science teacher, Akita Sensei. He gave me a slight frown. "I didn't expect to see your face here. I mean, I did, because your name is on the roster..." He trailed off, a sheet of paper in hand. I turned to the rest of the students. I recognized a couple. Rei Kagene, class clown. He was pretty cool, but we didn't talk to each other. The thing best recognizable was his jet black hair.

Then there was Bruno. Bruno was this guy that me and Rin meet the first day. He was a bully, and most of his friends were jocks. There was Gakupo, an easy exception. Gakupo just fenced. Bruno shot me a wary glare, glancing down at his arm. Rin had tried to beat him up or something, not like I really knew. I just knew he carried dark scratches on his arms. Maybe some bruises.

I took a seat on the other side of the room. Then Akita Sensei cleared his throat. "Let's see if The Mondaiji Gang's here," he announced. "Rei Kagene?" "I don't know why it's required you ask. I've never once stayed out of trouble," Rei sighed.

"Bruno?" There was a grunt. "Bruno's here. Haven't lost a Mondaiji." A couple of people laughed. "Miku Hatsune?" There was a sharp, stinging silence.

_ Again, with that girl_, I thought. Akita Sensei seemed to drag out the silence, like he wasn't understanding, or wasn't _capable_ of understanding how people felt about it. I didn't know what was so bad. It was enticing to raise my hand and ask what she had done to get into trouble. "The 'troublemaker' Gang" included her. It was obvious she did something bad. _But what?_

I remembered Gakupo and his sour warning. What could be wrong with her? The way all the students were so comfortable with unique behavior didn't add up with something common. Schizophrenia? Was that the answer? The sheer thought that I didn't know was driving me insane with frustration.

"Len Kagamine? The male twin?" I looked up. Seeing his sharp yellow eyes of contempt made me a bit mad. I could not grasp what was so secretive. "Uh..."

I was tempted to pull an innocent act and ask, but...

"Well?" I felt like that word made up for a sentence. "Hurry up and decide" was what flashed through my mind. I opened my mouth to speak.

"Present."

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My action of cowardice earlier had paid off. I knew that question would have woken restless glares. But through the entire time, Akita Sensei paid no mind to the students and what they did. Rei blurted a crude joke. Then and only then did he glance up. His eyes met with Rei's for a split second, then he scribbled something down on the roster with his pencil. After that he returned to his phone. He murmured a couple of things about social status, and after that the excitement died down.

After thinking about Hatsune, Ollie and other depressing things, I dosed off. I woke up when I heard a symphony of movements. I was groggy, hungry and most of my bones ached. I shuffled after the crowd like a zombie. As they started to walk away, however, I propped myself up on the wall and stretched. The way I had fallen asleep left my back sore. My spine was arched like a bow.

The weird thing was the ringing in my ears. Below the chattering of excited people was a tinkling sound. They were loud guys, Rei and his friends. I assumed that I was hearing things. So I spent my time trying to wake up my foot. The chatter died down and I could hear the tinkling clearly. I cocked my head as though it would allow me better hearing. I even stopped with my foot. It was uncomfortable, the prickly sensations.

Suddenly I recognized the noises. Somebody was playing the piano. I furrowed my brow. I hadn't seen anyone at the piano when leaving detention, so this piano wasn't in Kasane Sensei's classroom. But she had said it was the only working piano in the school.

That in mind, I was sold. I followed the sound as best as I could, running up the stairs.

I glanced through halls and doors. _This school is gigantic_, I thought. I leaned against the rail and glanced down. It was a long way to fall-lots of steps. Panting, I hurried off again. Dizzying repetition of the same pattern caused a temporary sense of nausea, like I was trapped in something that happened over and over again. But I shook it off. Was I desperate to see the pianist? The melody was sad and lonely, like someone poured their feelings onto the keys. Being a moron, I took that into literal sense and added to the churning in my stomach.

Finally, the lighter keys were vivid in my ears. I walked into a dark hallway. The sound floated through the emptiness. It seemed like I couldn't tear myself away. There was a muted grey light washing the wall. The sound was so close...

**Miku's POV**

Today was a happy day. Today was the day I became numb.

So why was I not happy?

I had asked my sister how I should celebrate. She didn't respond, of course. She's too happy being off without me. But it's alright. I'm always numb. I never feel hurt.

So why was today a happy day? In consideration, all days should be happy days, without pain. Today was remembrtance. Not happiness. When was the last time I had been happy anyway?

I played the song alone. I remembered when Haku played with me, but she played this song no longer. But...I couldn't help the twinge of...regret...

Suddenly, all of my fingers pressed all of the keys they could at once. I lifted my hands. How shaky they were. Did they remember this part was not mine?

I want to sob...But I hate crying. So I buried my face in my hands. A better substitute. No waste of water or time. Everything stays the same as it had.

"Are you alright?" I spin around in my seat and stare at the asker. He's a boy. My age. His hair is light blond, and it's shaggy and messy.

His eyes, though. They're a vivid, deep blue, like a Caribbean shore under the hot sun for hours. They were filled with concern. Concern...

...for me.

I stood up abruptly. "I didn't mean to intrude, it's just that I heard the music. And...I..." He trailed off, his face changing red. He followed the song. He heard it. That song was not allowed to anyone!

I turn around and bolt to the next door. I opened it. It was an art supply room. There were paint tubes neatly set in a box, shoved away with a lot of other things. An old paintbrush and some pens were scattered on the floor. Quickly I slammed the door and turned around. I think. I have a second to get away. That's all I have. So I turn and start to run, but shove a large white bust to the ground. It hits the polished floor and shatters to pieces. I stared with wide eyes. The door hasn't opened quite yet. NO, no, no, no, no, no! If they found me...if they found out I was skipping detention, they'd take my sister's piano. It was the coffin of the last physical evidence of her existence.

I ran over to the other door and quickly threw it open. The boy passed over the bust. The damage didn't matter to him. "Wait up! Just a minute! I just-" "No!" I cried. I'm inches out of his grasp. The stairs are before me. He would catch up on these, no doubt. I jumped off the top step, landing on my hands and knees. I glance up. He stares back down in shock.

There is a victorious grin that threatens to overtake my lips. I got up and ran away. Ran. It felt so good to escape.

I heard no footsteps after me. I was winning. I would never let them destroy it, wither it meant running or killing. Well, I suppose killing, no. Haku wouldn't agree.

The lockers were all a grey blur in my eyes as I passed them by. But I saw a flicker of black. Not grey. In this darkness, everything was still grey. But what was revealed to me was pure dark. I stopped, and took a deep, shaky breath. It was a white hallway, but it was pitch black.

I had r-returned to hell. I stare at the end of the hallway. I take a step forward. I hated hate it. The nightmare. It returned and I-I hate it.

My crisp white hospital gown scratched scratches my skin. It is died with red. My short cut teal hair is covered with sticky redness. My hands are sticky with the s-same dye. I lifted lift my hands to my face. Red. They are coated with dead. In one small hand I grasped grasp a black ribbon.

"Hers, hers, hers," I sang in a soft voice. Painful. That it all feels painful. It is freezing cold. I'm f-frozen shivering, running away to a pointless place.

"Give it back!" A shrieking voice. Thousands of low, raspy and squeaky voices melded meld to a desperate bellow.

The monster before me glares down with big white eyes. Another demand. "Give it back!" I sit down and cross my legs. I clapped clap my h-hands over my ears. "GIVE IT BACK!" Suddenly I draw my knees up to my chin. "Stay away..." I laugh. I look up at the grotesque sallow skin and the big, white eyes. My hysteria...My hysteria...My ribbon...please, God in Heaven...don't take Haku away from me...I beg of you, send this monster away.

Another figure approaces. The monster is frozen in place, shrieking in protest. Protest. To the presence of another. "STAY AWAY!" I screamed scream. But the figure kneels down next t-to me. Why?

Today is a happy day.

Arms wrap around me. I didn't don't move away. When have I know comfort like this? This hold is so warm...

I protest, nevertheless. The monster was is angry at me. With the figure. With the doorway that is not there.

"Sh," the voice says. A soft voice unlike the ones that complain of my presence in everyday life. I take took breath gasping breaths. I have not known comfort comforting.

The call madness and coldness. Both fade away. The darkness changes to light. A pounding, in my head, that I had not known, was dulled. The shrieking is gone, only a calm voice telling me, "it's alright. No one's chasing you."

My eyes were closed. I felt more at ease now than ever before. Was it possible that I was dreaming about Haku? I had not heard her voice in so long I forgot what the melodic tone was like. I shook my head. "Haku...?" I gripped a jacket tightly. "Sorry. Not Haku," the voice says with a light laugh. "Thank you..."

Today is a happy day.

Shrimpy: Keep it in mind that due to Miku's screwed-up mind, the way she thinks is full of errors and sometimes makes no sense at all. If she tries hard she talks just like a normal person. When in her nightmare, she goes a little insane and perception starts to crash. Bye!


	4. Uh, Get Off Me

Shrimpy: First thing I would like to apologize for is the grammar/spelling mistakes you may find. That's what I get for using a kindle...

Second thing is that I apologize to those who were put off by the warnings. I said that it was rated T for paranoia and caution, but the thing is that I'm so paranoid that I didn't take the blood from chapter three into the consideration. I can sometimes barely tell the difference.

Third this is that awesome dt sort of got it right with Haku. I'm not telling you what you got right, though. Wait some time for a certain _woman _to slip up. (Hint: I am not her, and neither is Luka.)

**Len's POV**

That was the moment that I didn't care. I didn't care that I didn't know the girl. I didn't even care what was going on. I thought she was having a panic attack. I didn't know what those looked like at the time, so I was perfectly okay with doing what I did.

The problem with me and mental instability is that I compare everything to one, big, endless nightmare. So I thought about what my parents would do when Rin had nightmares.

All that came to mind was a hug.

I'm pretty sure stupidity runs through my family. My Dad once pressed his entire hand on a hot grill because he forgot it was hot. The following year, I did the EXACT SAME THING. Rin almost did, but I suppose Dad wasn't about to let the cycle continue. He ended up burning his hand again.

Thinking that it was a really bad idea, I was surprised that the shivering girl in my arms thanked me. After that, she dozed of. At first I thought she was just in shock, then she went limp and I thought she was dead. Then-ta da-she used me like a pillow and slipped into a sleeping position.

I guess it was pretty comfortable for her, but I didn't move for about a half hour. And after that she started to move.

She looked up at me for a second. Her eyes were so pretty...bright, vivid teal that sparkled even in the dim light.

Then I was forced to the ground; she was on top of me scanning my face for...something to say? Her brow was knit together and she seemed confused.

At first I didn't even notice that she was sitting on me. What did the trick was how light she was, and how easily I could have pushed her off. But what I had observed told me she was fragile, easily broken. So I didn't.

"Uh...get off me..." I said. I looked up at her and tried to squirm away. Dammit...I couldn't help but be mesmerized by her eyes.

"Who are you?" She demanded. Her voice was soft and light, and I thought I heard her stutter. That snapped me out of the trance and I repeated myself. "Get off of me, please," I said. She shook her head. "Answer me. Who are you?" "I'm Len Kagamine," I said, "and this is no way to carry out a conversation. I'm getting pretty uncomfortable down here." I tried to frown, but it didn't work very well. I'm not used to it.

"..." all she did was stare at me. I could tell she didn't understand something. "May I know your name?" I asked. Temporarily, I forgot where I was. "Hatsune Miku," she muttered. I smiled. "Miku? That's a really pretty name..." My smile faded easily. I sat up abruptly and she hit the floor. "Oh! I'm sorry. It's just...I heard other people talk about you, and I've actually been meaning to talk to you myself and see what all the ruckus is about. They won't tell me." I scratched the back of my head, wondering if I made the right choice by asking. She stood up, her eyes clouded with sadness.

"If you want to know what's so bad, you're going to have to stay away from me." I cocked my head. "Is it really something worth knowing?" Her eyes snapped to me and I jumped. "If I have to stay away from you just to find out, it really doesn't seem worth it. Even if Bruno were in your part of this situation I wouldn't want to know," I explained. Her eyes widened. "Who's paying you to do this?" She snapped. I thought I made out a faint crack in her voice. "Huh? What do you mean?" I furrowed my brow. I felt really bad for this girl.

"No one in their right mind would bother me on their own," she cried, "who's paying you?"

"No one," I said honestly. "I heard someone playing the piano. I thought Kasane Sensei had the only working piano, so I decided to investigate. Then you noticed me, ran away and started screaming. So I followed you and..." I felt warmth creep up on my face. I didn't exactly want to tell her what I did to calm her down, considering I didn't know her.

"If no one is paying you, then you really are clueless," she said. "Stay away from me, Len Kagamine. I'm not safe." "I'd prefer you just call me Len. And why aren't you safe?" I asked. She sighed. "For reasons." "I understand you don't want to talk about it, but I've been dealing with the mystery crap all day. I'm kind of going crazy." I cupped my chin in my hands. "You're a fool!" She looked at me and tried to draw some sort of answer from me.

"I'm mentally unstable. I cannot feel emotions and I get panic attacks. Nightmares that go on for days. The one thing I don't understand is how this one...ended so quickly..." she lifted up her hands. "Hey, calm down. I'm sorry I forced you to answer me," I said. "I should've kept my mouth shut." "I'm sorry I pinned you to the floor," she said. "You didn't exactly pin me, seeing as how I got you off just like that," I replied, shrugging. "So you'd be fine if I did it again?" My face burned up again. "No!"

I thought, for a second, that I saw a smile grace her pale lips.


	5. The Talk Can Come in Handy

Shrimpy: Eh...I...I think that I forgot to mention something. Gakupo fences, but he doesn't prefer many sports. People are constantly trying to convince him to join the football team. He would do great seeing as how big he is.

And there is the fact that this story is somewhat similar to Rolling Girl. Rolling Girl inspired some parts and a bit of the story's backbone, but they're certainly not the same thing.

I also want to say that there was this slight error, which was why I couldn't update the story. But everything is fine now. OuO

**Len's POV**

Did I know for myself if she was as bad as everyone said? No. I mean, I spoke to her and I found out what people meant when they said she was weird. But I couldn't tell if that was what she was really like. And yet, for some reason it didn't bother me anymore. I knew more now, maybe more than some did...

"Len, I'm eating your dessert if you don't," Rin warned, jabbing her fork at the air. "Hmm? Yeah, yeah, sure. That's awesome Rin." She frowned and kicked me in the leg.

"Ow!" I looked up from the table. "It's as though I'm not here! Geez, Len! We know _I'm _the one who can tell the story," she said, pouting. "If my thoughts are elsewhere, it means they're elsewhere." I sighed and cupped my chin in my hands. "What I was saying was that the cheerleading squad is deciding on whether or not we should give Neru the boot. She's not really the cheery type," she explained. Rin seemed to get perky when she spoke about it, like being a cheerleader was important and special. I'm not saying it isn't, but there were more important and interesting topics she could have thought about.

Suddenly, she stopped talking about Neru. "Len, you know how some of the cheerleaders think that you're, like, cute or whatever?" She said, smiling sweetly and playing with a lock of her hair. "Rin, what did you do?" I asked cautiously. Oh, God, knowing Rin this was going to be terrible. "Nothing bad!" She promised. She giggled. "One of them was a little _shy _about it, so I agreed to get her a date with you."

I groaned. "Rin, you're terrible." She frowned again. "This girl is really pretty. Buck up, Lousy Banana, 'cause the date's this Saturday." I wanted to protest against it. I wanted to shy away from Vocaloid High all together. But I couldn't do that. Rin would murder me.

"Can I know her name, or is this one of your crooked surprises for me?" I asked, glancing at my plate. "Her name is Ritsu Namine. She really is pretty, so don't worry." "That's not what I'm worried about, Rin," I said, folding my arms. Our parents weren't in the dining room, it seemed. But Grandma was in the kitchen, probably eavesdropping. True to my hypothesis, she called over the banging of pots and the running of water, "I think it's great your sister set you up on a date. You're not a little boy. Girls aren't always going to like you." Rin laughed. "Grandma, there's..." Her head popped out of the kitchen. Her silver hair was a bit long, at least in my opinion.

"Oh," she said, a smile on her face. "Is there another girl? One that you're interested in?" Rin laughed even harder. "Len, why didn't you tell me?" She whined, still giggling. "I'm your twin!" "There's no other girl! In case you haven't noticed, one hundred percent of my relationships are platonic. I guess that's hard for you to see," I snapped. If I hadn't been so irritated with the smug faces on my relatives I would have been burning up. I didn't like the way people assumed I looked at girls. I guess I thought they were always just...there. But when I was in high school, suddenly I was supposed to feel differently about it?

"Doesn't mean there isn't a certain senpai you haven't confessed to," Rin grinned. I rolled my eyes and glanced at Grandma. She was trying to muffle her laughter, but she wasn't doing a good job. Was it this line of women that never grew up? Probably. I've never seen Rin make an adult decision. She still can't stand Brussels sprouts. "There's no girl that I like. OR boy." I shot Rin a glare. I think you'll know what I was saying.

"Geez. Well, I'm eating your dessert. Bye!" She picked up my plate and scurried up the stairs. I turned and stared out the window. The smallest little details could remind me that we weren't in Wales. It could remind me that Ollie wasn't coming over tomorrow to help me fill a ton of water balloons for the kid down the road who was planning a birthday party for his brother. But both of us had said so ourselves, no crybaby business going on after I moved.

I heard a clank on the table in front of me and turned. Grandma had set a plate of blueberry pie in front of me. Just like her, after all. She wasn't going to bed until everyone had eaten some of her dessert. So I picked up the fork and stuck it into the pie. The blueberries always seemed too dark to be blueberries.

_What did you expect to be blue? Something lighter? Perhaps aquamarine or teal?_

No, I didn't really expected it to be lighter, but-then I froze. I knew who Miku Hatsune was now. And...I had to admit, she actually was pretty. My face got warm at the thought.

_Never mind. Eat your pie._

I quickly obeyed the thought and shoveled a mouthful of pie into my mouth. Rin had said Ritsu was pretty, right? Tons of girls at the school were pretty. She couldn't be so different!

While frantically trying to convince myself that I was overreacting, I hadn't noticed Grandma slip in. "Is that pie as good as I thought it was, or are you thinking about someone?" She asked. I jumped and looked up at her. "MRRPH!"

She laughed. "Honey, swallow that pie but not all at once. I'm not strong enough for the Heimlich maneuver anymore." I forced it down and winced. Then I took a deep breath and was about to explain to her until she shushed me. "It is perfect natural to react in certain ways about certain people. Maybe it's time to have The Talk," she explained. "Grandma please don't talk to me about this we got enough racket for a lifetime in health class," I said. It all came out at once. Maybe I was prone to it. "Never mind the physical bull feces they explain at school. I want to tell you about the things you feel in your heart." "I'm fifteen. I don't think I'm going to need any-" "Even more bull feces! Len Kagamine, this is more important than Rin's soccer game. No one wants you to make the wrong decision about your love life. Let me say it now. If what you know and what you feel are the same, you go for it."

I stared at her for a long time. That was one sentence. "And what if they're not?" I asked. She closed her eyes and smiled. "Then they're a good friend or a bad idea," she said simply. "...I'm going to my room. I'll see you later Grandma." I stood up abruptly and walked to the stairs. One thing was for sure. Grandma was stubborn.

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"Male twin, are you better prepared for today?" I looked up. Meiko Sensei leaned against my desk. I folded my arms. She sighed. "If it doesn't end in an argument, today counts as a good day. Now, to our riveting tale. Cleopatra and Mark Antony were very much in love, were they not? Mizki, Teiru, would you please come up and show us the ease of their relationship? The childish pranks they enjoyed together, perhaps? The simpler parts, really," Meiko Sensei instructed. Mizki rose and wandered to the front. "Where is Teiru?" She looked around. "Hmm. Well," she said, her gaze sweeping the class. But I thought I could feel her eyes on me for a little longer. She smiled. Her smile is a bit like sugar in the eyes. It's normally sweet, I suppose, but then it starts to burn and you realize something bad is happening.

I gulped and hoped that she wasn't about to call me. She always finds the errors in my actions. I would never make it past the first line before we fought again. "Since Teiru isn't here, I suppose we should have Leon come up," she announced. I sighed in relief. Leon's chair scraped the floor as he pushed it away. He got up and walked to the front of the room. Meiko Sensei handed him the script, then eased into her chair. "Action!" She called.

Leon and Mizki started to laugh. "Will the cook find out it was us?" Mizki asked, giggling at given moments. "I doubt it. He's never found out before. Your cook has the mind of a pig," he replied. Mizki stopped laughing and straightened. "If that was the case, we would have cooked him long ago," she said. She had drastically become serious. Still defensive of her people. "Antony" laughed it off.

I soon stopped paying attention. I was thinking a bit about Wales, yes, but I was also thinking about the crazy things Grandma told me. Then I started thinking about ALL the crazy things Grandma told me. She said she was a nurse. That was proven, since she patched up my skinned knees after a brutal soccer game and got all the medicines needed specifically for some sort of ailment whenever anyone got sick. She once told me that there was a unicorn in my closet and that if I got out of bed before seven o'clock it would eat me. I don't know what happened that a unicorn's intervention was required, but it worked until Oliver told me unicorns were too big to fit into closets.

Then from there, I thought about the time she said me and Oliver looked so alike that we could've been brothers.

_"Mum, are me and Len brothers?" Oliver asked, tugging on her sleeve. "Of course not, Ollie," she said with laugh. "Mrs. Kagamine said you looked very similar to Len, which you do." She rubbed his head. "Now you two run along and play. You have a ship to attend to."_

I was yanked away from the fantasy of two boys sailing the seas by the shriek of a bell. With that, I was headed to second period.

Walking down the hall, I noticed a big gap in the crowd. Whispers. But there was only one person they were uncomfortable around, and that was-

"Oh! Hi, Hatsune-san!" I said, smiling. Miku looked up at me. There was a curious look on her face. "Nobody calls me that," she said softly. She glanced away from me. "What's Kagamine-san doing with Hatsune? Doesn't he know?" I tried to ignore the voices. "What do they call you?" I asked. "Hatsune. Just that." "Would you prefer it if I call you that?" "I would prefer you don't talk to me," she answered stiffly. Then she sighed. "But I don't think you'll stop any time soon, so just call me Miku."

"If you don't want to talk, it's fine. You can just say so," I said, feeling contrite. "No, now that they've seen you interact with me, they're going to start picking on you. In the window of time we have left, you can try and get whatever it is you wanted out of this conversation." I gaped, but then I said, "I just wanted to see if you're okay." "Nonsense. You wanted to talk to me about something else, didn't you? And besides, I'm never okay," she said dully, her eyes on the hall ahead.

"Uh, no, that's it."

_I know I said the name sounds business-like, but..._

I saw the confusion in her eyes. Was everyone so rude to her that they never even cared? What about her parents? "That...is really all you wanted to know?" "I guess. It never crossed my mind to ask for something else," I said with a shrug. "...that's very..." She looked up from her binder, to me. She stared at me and something in my chest seemed to leak. Like an ice cube melting in someone's hand. "Kind." With that word she turned away. I didn't understand why I was feeling so weird. Something was broken. It had to be.

It felt like one of my heart valves had burst. Was I sick? I placed a hand on my chest. My heart was thundering. But then I realized I was stupid. What I thought was going on wasn't going on at all. Then, for the first time, it occurred to me that Rin was right. I might like Miku Hatsune.


	6. Cold and Unforgiving

Shrimpy: Those of you who read this, I truly am sorry for not completing this chapter early enough. There is a prison called "school" with wardens called "teachers" who demand work from us prisoners. My mother sends me there very often. I do not have enough arms or money to run away and take everything I love, so until I can fulfill that fantasy I must stay and obey. Here's the chap crap I typed. (On a kindle. Does that count as typing?)

**Len's POV**

"Ready to go, Lousy Banana?" Rin asked, sitting on the couch. She was peeling oranges like an expert. She always had that ability.

"I wish you hadn't done this, but I'm going. Wasn't it said, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'?" I replied. I hated Rin for doing this, but oh she did it. And I wasn't about to disappear. One date couldn't hurt. And if we really liked each other, we would meet again. It seemed simple and innocent with that ideology.

"Hell hath no fury like a cheerleader with a positive pregnancy test," she corrected. I shivered, wondering what would happen to the asshole who could get my sister pregnant in the situation she labeled. Then I began to wonder if she was joking or not. I shook my head before I thought about it too much.

"By the way, Len-kun~ there was a little problem," she said, a grin on her face. "What problem?" I asked. Knowing Rin, she was going to drop a bomb. "I hadn't known until a couple of days ago, so..." her grin faded. She was squeezing the peel in her hands. "Ritsu isn't a..._he _isn't a..." I could feel blood drain from my face. "Rin...WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER THAN THIS? YOU SAID YOU KNEW A FEW DAYS AGO!" Rin clamped her hands over her ears. "Geez, you Lousy Banana. Calm your...what is it you have again? You certainly aren't much of a man..." She chuckled at the end of her sentence, which got me even more upset. But I knew my sister, so I knew what to say in response.

"Hmm. You're right, Rin. That explains why your lack of breasts confuses me about your gender classification," I retorted. She hissed and jumped off of the couch. Saturday was her lazy day. She spent it doing nothing, and anyone could tell. She wore an orange t-shirt that said "Mikan MINE!" And a pair of blue sweatpants. Something about complementary colors, I believe.

"How DARE you!" She cried. She lunged for me. I admit I probably went too far. Rin was always sensitive about that topic, and I knew it. I jumped out of the way and she was eerily close to a bad collision with the shelf on the far wall.

"I will kill you, Len Kagamine!" She warned. "This is payback, Rin. I'd like to see you take it the way our was handed to you!" I called back. I had run into the kitchen. It had been a while since we last did this...get angry at each other and resolve it with a high speed chase, complete with death threats. Don't tell me you've never done that before. That is a completely human thing to do.

I rushed out the backdoor of the kitchen, past Grandma, and straight into the backyard. In the hopes that we would have something to do, Mom and Dad fixed up the yard. We didn't end up doing much in there. As Rin chased me through the yard, I actually felt happy. This was something that believe it or not made me very...what's the word? Glad. Even if it was fighting, I hadn't been spending much time with my twin, and this was a sort of calming thing. "Get over here so I can strangle you!" Yep. Calming.

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** Miku's POV**

"Miku." I looked up to see Ruko staring down at me. Her one blue eye and one red eye sparkled in the dim light of my room. Her Raven hair was very long, though like me she preferred to keep it in two ponytails. "Ruko," I responded. She rolled her heterochromic eyes and looked back to me. "I'm your mother, Miku. Kaiko was your father's first wife," she said softly. "I think it's just very odd knowing that I resemble her more than I resemble you," I replied bitterly.

Ruko should not be my mother. I've never called her mother. I don't care if she was the one who raised me. I am not convinced she gave birth to me.

She sighed and sat down next to me. "Kiddo, there's something your dad wants to talk about with you. He wants to know how bad the nightmare was this week." "This time it was extremely short. About two hours, maybe even one." "So your medication has been working?" Ruko asked, eyes widening just a bit. "No," I said simply. "Is there something you thought of? Maybe you took another pill along with your-"

"There was someone who intervened," I said. What? A smile threatening my frown? Something was happening to me. "Every time your father and I try that, you almost kill us. What exactly did this person do?" "I don't know exactly what he did. I remember I woke up...on top of him, was it?" Ruko gasped. "Miku, did either of you do something?" Her face was cross. "I don't know. I'm sure we didn't, though. He's very kind and I'm sure it's because of him the nightmare stopped."

"The world outside is a cruel one," she reminded me. "I know that better than you, Ruko. I'm bullied every day," I countered. She knew. Why was she so ignorant about it? If...She was my real Mom...why didn't she help me?!

"If you know that, Miku, then tell me why you can't get over the incident?" Ruko asked. I said nothing. Instead I glared at her. She took it as a warning. When I have a "fit" I don't breath properly.

After that I was alone. I knew. I knew better than her. I shouldn't trust the boy, even if the person he showed me was kind. But it was hard not to believe him. If he was nothing but smoke and mirrors, why in God's name did it seem so real?

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**Len's POV**

"Kids!" Grandma's voice called over Rin's favorite TV show. I had no idea what it was called, who was saying what, our what was going on. I was half asleep on the floor. After the chase led us three or four blocks away from the house, we called a truce and came back home.

"Mm hmm," I responded. "I need some honey floor my special Apple pie, but we don't have any in the pantry. Could you two go out and buy some?" She asked. I nodded, knowing that she couldn't see me. "C'mon, Rin. We need to get honey." She slipped off the couch and walked to the staircase. "I'm going to get changed first," she muttered. "I'll be, like, five minutes." She disappeared up the steps and I tried to watch the show.

"Oh my GOD Paul. I thought I could trust you!" "Are you saying I'm not trust worthy?" "I'm saying get the hell out of my house!" I was confused about the screaming and the guy, but obviously he had a second chance and he blew it. The girl probably had a right to be angry. "Get out? GET OUT? This is my house! I pay for all the electricity and crap. Do you have a job? No, you're a lazy"-the show bleeped out a word-"you get out of my house! MY house!" "The Snyder family has been raised and raising in this house since the beginning. It's my inheritance, Paul. The electricity? The heating? The gas? You were never asked to pay! I never needed your help. If there's anything you own by paying, Paul, it's your beer. I pay for this house, so get the hell OUT!"

The woman gave him a good, hard shove and suddenly there was a cheer. Then the camera cut to what looked like a talk show. "So proud of you, girl," proclaimed the apparent host as she gave the other woman a hug. I was actually feeling a bit the same. The strength of human anger is amazing...isn't it?

"Len, let's go. I got-" I turned and she was starting at me with her green, quizzical eyes. "What?" I asked, shrugging. "So Kim did it? She kicked that lousy ass to the curb?" Rin asked. "Mm...yeah. Pretty sure she did-oh WHAT?" I gaped at the screen as the woman, supposedly Kim, lifted her hand and showed a ring. "Yeah, you go, girl!" Rin said, pumping her fist. "Just goes to show how unforgiving women can be. She got over him that fast, then went and got engaged."

Rin scoffed. "Serves that ass right," she said. "Can we just get the honey?" I asked, getting off the couch. "Yeah." She didn't take her eyes off the screen, however, until I grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. She looked like she was about to protest against it, but she said nothing.

We walked out the door, headed for the other block. Though it was about four in the afternoon, the breeze was cold. It didn't even feel colder at night when n it was hot enough. Was this a sign of Autumn's precarious approach? Did I even know what I meant by precarious?

Sometimes Wales could be a little colder than here...

_"Ollie," I began, looking up from the "keel" of the "boat". For two sailors, we used this big tub that his parents put in the yard and painted. I always vividly imagine rich brown planks on the keel, and sharp blue waves of water lapping in the sides-it was never very vivid, really. Faded would be a better word._

_"Why do you have that hat?" Suddenly, Oliver's eye widened slightly. He puffed out his chest. "My brother is a sailor. He rides the sea as a proud captain. When I'm bigger, he's taking me with him and I'll be a sailor, too. It runs in or blood." I was awed by this, and I asked, "can I be a sailor, too?" "Aren't you? Climb aboard, mate!" _

Rin and Ollie were never very fond of each other. I was reminded that when I probed for more good memories.

_"There's no such thing as a girl pirate," I protested. "There are wenches," Oliver stated. Rin shot him a glare. "I want to be a pirate. Otherwise I'm telling okaachan!" Oliver furrowed his brow. "She means she's going to tell mom," I said. I turned to Rin and said, "tattle tale!" "Am not!" Rin squeaked. "Are TOO!" "Am NOT!" "Are TOO, Rin!"_

_"Uhh..." Oliver held up his hands, trying to get us to stop; Oliver was a bit of a pacifist. It was an effort in vain._

_"Next time YOU want to play with ME, I'm not going to let you!" Rin cried. "Big deal. Like I WANT to play princess fairies," I scoffed. I turned away from her, my arms folded. "C'mon, Ollie. Let's go play somewhere where girls aren't allowed." "Girls are allowed anywhere," Rin retorted. "Nuh uh," I replied. "Yes they are," Rin repeated. At that we both turned to Ollie and said, at the same time, "Right, Oliver?" "Well, I'm Len's best friend, so...they aren't...like a boy's bathroom?" Rin huffed. "I don't like you, Oliver. Not at all."_

"Len, quit day dreaming and let's get going!" Rin's high pitched voice whined.


	7. Anger the Home Wrecker

Shrimpy: Can I confide in you people a secret I have yet to tell my family and friends? O_O When I'm bored, I like to search for pictures of wolves. I don't know why. Wolves are badass, but for some reason my fascination with them unnerves me. It's almost like the reason I like them is because of how organized yet simple they have life...

Enough about a moron, though. You guys are here for the story. Oh, and by the way, nothing happened at the store. Rin and Len purchased their honey. Naturally, Rin had a fit when she wasn't allowed to purchase more than a basket of oranges. The time kinda skipped. I'm sorry I was too lazy to put that in.

**Miku's POV**

I liked to be alone. But when I looked around and saw people talking and laughing in their little groups, I felt lonely.

Growing up as a child, there were very few people who had ever wished to talk to me, at least talk to me casually. But I sigh at the thought. No one spoke to me casually. Haku was always speaking in fear. She was afraid of everyone.

I ignored the people who stared at me. Some are pity, some are disgust; no matter what they feel about me, the way they looked at me is built upon those two concerns. Then I noticed Bruno, the Mondaiji Gang's notorious member. He was leaning against lockers in his usual spot, with his friends. Gakupo, of course, had a sword with him. Something had gotten the bdunch amused. Even them, half as the biggest of the Mondaiji Gang, could laugh normally and rest easy.

It was that reason exactly that I wondered as to why I wasn't jealous. I walked past. Everything seemed fine, really. Nothing was out of place. Everyone was calm. Bruno, especially, didn't seem to be particularly in a bad mood. But trying to keep calm never was his goal. "Hatsune," he said.

I froze. Did I want to turn around? Of course not. "Hatsune," he repeated, more gruff this time. I turned around. "What do you want, Bruno?" "Don't think that you can slip away, bitch," he snapped. "Don't think you're safe." "It's that a coward's way of saying 'you'll pay for something you had no control over'?" I retorted. "I think you have a strong control over where you're foot lands, you little-" Gakupo grabbed his shoulder. "Calm down, Bruno," he said. "She pushed Luka down the stairs, too," Bruno sneered.

Instantly Gakupo let go of Bruno. He said nothing. "We'll see where things end up once I'm done with you," Bruno said. His eyes flamed with hatred. Then he walked away. What was his posse of idiotic jocks supposed to do now that he was leaving? One by one they peeled their backs from the lockers and walked after him. Gakupo shot me a glance.

_Was that of sympathy?_

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** Len's POV**

"Are you okay? You're totally zoning out on me, Len. I want attention and this is hurting me." I looked up. "I've been failing hardcore. Meiko Sensei totally hated me," I muttered. "Geez, Len. Maybe you should try doing something no one else will bother with?" Luka suggested. Gakupo was staring down at his tray. There was an eggplant in front of him, but he didn't touch it. I turned away before Rin scoffed me for not paying attention.

"But anyways, Ritsu wanted to apologize for the mix-up. She's not happy about it either." I groaned. "Rin, are you telling me that she-" "Eh? Interrupting the story teller? No class, Len-kun. No wonder Meiko Sensei is failing you," Rin said. As usual she tore away the skin of her orange. "She _was _a he, but she decided who she wanted to be." Her correction seemed to make my mind react as though it was playing out. "Can I come over?" "Go away. I'm thinking."

I was still kind of distracted. In the back of my mind I remembered vaguely what had happened last week. Feelings were mixing with opinions and I felt like I hadn't slept in weeks, even though yesterday I had fallen asleep pretty early.

Rin sighed, "desperate times call for desperate measures." She snatched the banana from my tray and tossed it to the far end of the cafeteria. "Rin! That was the last banana!" I snapped, looking up. "What did I just say? Desperate times call for desperate-" I grabbed the peeled Orange from its peaceful resting place on Rin's tray. Then I tossed it. In the distance, I heard someone cry "ouch!" Rin shot me a glare meant to kill. "You two need to cool down. You've been fighting for a while already," Kaito said. He transferred his orangenge to Rin's relatively bare tray and sat next to Gakupo. My eyes snapped to the purple-haired junior. He wouldn't move. He simply stared down at his tray, eyes seeming to scan the back of the milk carton for something missing.

I still didn't say anything. It could have been my paranoia, but his silence was disturbing. He noticed I was looking and glanced up. "What?" He said the word simply. And that just made it more clear. Luka and Rin began to notice. Kaito was humming softly while digging a spoon into his tub of chocolate ice cream. "You okay, Samurai Jack? You haven't said three words to us," Luka said. She seemed more confident with her words then I was. I was satisfied that someone else was talking so I didn't have to. "Is it required?" He responded. "Well, if there's a problem, you can tell us. We're your friends," Rin volunteered. She popped an orange slice in her mouth.

"Bruno had a problem. He wants my help, but I don't think I should. But we were friends for a long time, so..." he shifted uncomfortably. "Well, telling him how you feel won't work," Rin deadpanned. "You're guys. That doesn't even work in the world of women." "Maybe you can tell him that you're seeing a sick relative. He'll understand, what with Clara still recovering from breast cancer." Gakupo nodded. "Maybe you girls are right. I-" "I hate to be the guy to ruin the friendship moment between you, but has anyone noticed the change of temperature in the room?" We all turned to Kaito, who even in his scarf was shivering more then anyone else.

I realized that most of the lunchroom had gotten quiet. "Ah, even the building reacts to Hatsune's presence," Luka said. Her skin pricked. I saw the big gap in the crowd and realized Miku silently walking through. Suddenly there was an eruption of whispers as though no one could be heard. To top one another, the whispers got louder.

"She's totally creepy. I'm so glad she knows to stay away from the normal people."

This is the kind of insult that I didn't know would be at an art school. God DAMMIT. What about Vincent van Gogh? That guy was insane, and people herald him as an artistic genius. I had no right to be mad, though. I wasn't doing anything to help.

_ Then get off your lazy, weak ass and do something about it! _ My mind screamed at me. _And while you're at it, get us a banana or something! I'm so damn hungry right now!_

_Okay, okay, _I surrendered to the banana part a little grudgingly, because I wasn't actually hungry and there were no bananas in sight.

I gulped and walked through the tight wall students made by clearing a path in the center. I could see her now. Her bangs shadowed her eyes and her fists were clenched. She was...walking, but trying to take normal time in doing so. In my mind I tried to set that fact away. "Hatsune-san!" I called over the multitude of whispers. Miku turned to me. Unfortunately so did the rest of the students around at the time. "Would you mind...accompanying me to get some files to Akita Sensei?" Everyone always claimed she had some passion for science that couldn't be changed. And for that her sanity frankly didn't matter to Akita Sensei.

Well, in that point no one is certain that Akita Sensei himself is sane.

Miku gaped at me. I waited a minute or two for her to nod, then I gestured to the door of the cafeteria. So she stepped through the immediate hole in the wall of students and followed me out the door. As soon as she was out of the room, I felt a twinge of anger that everyone started chatting and going about comfortably as she was no longer here.

"I'm not stupid." "Hmm?" Came my reply. I looked up from the closed door. Her eyes were still inquiring, still brightly colored despite her depressed expression. "I didn't see anyone talk to you about any files and I most certainly don't see any files in your hands." I raised an eyebrow. "It didn't seem like you would have noticed," I responded. "It didn't seem like a was carrying a knife either, and yet-" she revealed a red and blue handle in her palm. With the flick of a switch, a silvery blade popped out. I admit, it startled me. But I wasn't scared, _startled._

"Please put that away," I sighed. Obediently but silently she pocketed the knife. "I just don't like how people treat you. It bothers me," I admitted. She looked at me with her emotionless gaze. "You really are an idiot," she said bitterly, which was a change from her calm looking exterior. "I suppose there's all kinds of ways to say 'thank you'," I replied. "I don't want your help," she said. Her voice was calm, but it still stung as though it was laced with venom. "No, you don't," I conceded. "Doesn't mean I don't want to help." "You're adding insult to injury." She laughed. It was obviously faked, forced to prove a point. "If you had any idea how many people have 'helped' me..."

"You think that I'm doing this to hurt you." "Yes," she said. She was watching the curious glances we received from some people who were busy outside of lunch. "If I can prove to you that I'm just being kind, will you smile for me?" Her gaze snapped to me. I could see it in her expression. "Come on. I think you'd look cuter if you smiled!" At that I couldn't help but grin. "I wouldn't agree to that if my life depended on it! I'd rather just return to lunch, which I couldn't have because of you." There was a deepening scowl on her face. I could see a hint of pink on her pale face. "You never had to agree." Oh, sometimes I can be such a gentleman.

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**Miku's POV**

Closing the door gently behind. I'm wondering.

_ Idiot. Jerk. I hate you already. Go away. I HATE YOU ALREADY._

I'm infuriated. I don't understand why he gets me more angry than Bruno, or someone else. So angry. I open the door and this time slam it shut. Doesn't matter if the door was already closed. I still got the satisfaction I was looking for.

"Someone's mad." I turned to see Ruko sitting comfortably on the couch, a mug of black coffee in her hands. The steam drifted in front of her face, then evaporated. "We could talk about it, you know? There's an empty seat right next to me and some coffee left in the pot and-" "Drink it yourself. I'm not in much of a mood to talk," I interrupted. She took it as a chance to sip some of the dark, bitter coffee. Then she sighed. "Can I at least have my pocket knife back? Is obvious you took it," Ruko said. I produced the rather heavy knife from my pocket and walked over to her. Gingerly I hand it over.

"Did I ever tell you why I have this knife?" She asked. I shook my head. She flipped it over expertly in her hands. Then she sighed. "You're father and I would fight a lot, back when I was pregnant with you"-she paused, knowing I wouldn't believe her when she mentioned her pregnancy-"and one day we were fighting really bad. Your dad mentioned abortion and I said, 'over my dead body, teal boy.' So just to make sure he didn't try anything, I bought myself some protection." Still flipping the knife over, she looked up at me with her sharp blue eye and blazing red eye. "If I'm really your child, I think you should have listened to father," I said bluntly.

"I wouldn't sacrifice my baby for the world," she said stubbornly. "That's alright. I'll regret it for you, Ruko." "Stop playing the victim, Miku. I just tried to work things out. Give me a break," she said. Genuine exasperation. I don't believe it for a second.

"Maybe I'm tired of thinking I'm not the victim," I said in response. With that I walk to the stairs. "Miku." "Forget it," I stated. Headed up the steps, I'm still wondering.

_ Haku, wherever you are, I bet you're happier than me. I bet you're stronger._


	8. Because of The Rain

Shrimpy: Um...uh...how does one say 'thank you' again? Miku's sharp use of words is rubbing off on me and I'm...trying...

*sudden nefarious intervention of a raccoon* SHE'S SAYING THANK YOU FOR READING THIS FAR INTO HER CRAPPY FANFIC BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULD LIKE HER STUPID MYSTERY AND HAKU IS

Noooooooo! Please, stop it! You're not allowed to say anything! You're not the woman who slips up, you're not even a woman. *interrupted once more* SCREW YOU I HAVE OVARIEEEEEEES Let go of the kindle, you're scratching it!

**Len's POV**

The sky outside of the window was dark. The weatherman on the T.V. said there was ninety percent chance of rain in the afternoon. Rin was enjoying her large glass of orange juice and I was sitting there eating bacon. Grandma was having some kind of battle with the frying pan. "I'm a baker," she had said, "If bacon was anything like how it sounded, bakin', I would be more excited about it."

That wasn't her last sentence on the topic, either. "And bacon is so unhealthy! A heartattack that came from the underside of a hog," she added. "But Grandma, you put sugar on almost everything you make. That's diabetes from a kitchen of love," Rin innocently replied. Grandma turned to her, lips pressed tightly. Her look was of shear annoyance. But she shrugged it off and returned her attention to the pan.

"At least you know how to treat those things, right Grandma?" I suggested, trying to take her mind off of it. She sighed. "Barely. I worked with kids when I was a nurse, not middle-aged men and women with frail health." "What was your field, anyway? You never tell anyone about it." Rin casually sipped her orange juice. "Oh, that! I was a nurse at a me-" something burst into a ring. Rin squeaked and swallowed the whole glass in one gulp. "Gotta go! Kaito's expecting me to meet him so we can walk to school together!" She coughed loudly, but that didn't stop her from jumping off the chair and running out the door. Grandma stared after her.

"Thinking about giving her The Talk, too, Grandma?" I asked, stuffing the last strip of bacon in my mouth. I pushed my chair away. "No. Nostalgia," she muttered, forgetting about the bacon.

"It'll be great when Rin finally grows up," I noted. "Hmm. I'd think so, too, but I wasn't thinking about Rin or you. Probably one of your friends." She broke into a hum and I walked to the door. "Bye Grandma."

I was suspicious as hell. Where was Rin headed? Why did Kaito want to walk with her? If anyone shady got too close to my twin, someone was getting it. And sometimes with his clueless look and weird behavior, I got a _ little_ suspicious. But with Rin? That seemed kind of crazy.

_ Or maybe you're just jealous,_ my mind suggested. I found that ridiculous. I couldn't get jealous of an ice cream loving sax player or a mischievous cheerleader. Either way, though, I still had to get my stuff in order. I looked up at the sky. Dark, but not quite. It was still pretty light.

Absent-mindedly walking across the pavement, I let my mind wander to Wales. What did I specifically hate about this new city? It was kind of unfamiliar. As far as I was once concerned, everywhere was filled with sheep. I knew that wasn't the case one my parents clarified it. Which probably meant no horses, either. No farm animals could be in sight. I suppose I had never been close to farms back in Wales, but seriously! It used to be part of my wildest dreams to own a farm...

I sighed. So homesick! I was really upset, wasn't I? I should have been letting go. I...I had friends...but I knew how pathetic that I really was. But I felt like I really missed the way Wales was. Everyone I knew was so familiar with me. Everyone was normal.

_ Is that why you like Hatsune-san? _I shook my head furiously, feeling the warmth so unwelcome comfortably cover my face. Thinking about her, though, made me remember that I sort of did act weird around her. She made me smile a lot more than I had been since I left Wales. _ Maybe I like her a _little.

"Think about something else! Think about soccer," I scolded myself. Truth was, I hadn't been thinking about soccer for a long time. I had barely been thinking about talking to people, which was driving me a bit insane. I wasn't really speaking my mind. That was the reason I was talking to myself. "You are such an idiot, Len. You need to stop moping around and acknowledge that your stubborn ass best friend will track you down and walk up to your door on a completely random weekend so he can yell a series of ill-mannered words and then eat all of the food in the fridge!" I believed that wholly. He'd dove it before and proved he could do it again. Even if he was pretty laidback, Oliver James could be up in arms at times.

"So...just what am I supposed to say to him when he does find me? It's likely he could do most of the talking in that situation. Yeah, I guess I have thought of doing the same to him, but we lost all of our connection when we BOTH MOVED." what could possibly be more inconvenient than what I was suffering now?

Suddenly rain started falling by the gallon, hard onto the streets. A clap of thunder roared in the grey clouds. _ Shit! I forgot my umbrella!_

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** Len's POV**

"My, my. I've never seen you this quiet before. I think you all need a change of attitude," Kasane Sensei said firmly. With a nod, she turned to the piano. "You're somewhat scary." Her dark fuchsia curls bounced when she walked to the window. "Maybe you need a song to cheer up!" She declared. She turned back to the class with a smile on her face. I noticed a couple of kids straighten. A smile suddenly appeared on Rion's face. "Who should I pick...Hmm...seems that I haven't heard you sing. Len, you're it today!" I jumped when I heard a couple of cheers behind me. "Len, you're very good! We'd love to see you sing right in front of us!" Proclaimed a girl with pink hair. "Eh? 'In front of you'?" I was really confused.

Suddenly Rion lifted up her phone and revealed a video on YouTube. There was a blonde boy sitting at the piano, playing the keys to a song as him and a girl with striking resemblance sang together. "Rin, why did you upload that!?" I protested. She cocked her head with a grin. "Sorry, Onii-chan!" "Come, now, Len. We're all anticipating how well you can do!"

"I-I-I don't usually s-sing in front of people," I stammered. Girls, specifically Rin and her friends, were giggling.

"You can do it," Kasane Sensei assured. There was a twinkle in her eye. Then I noticed Miku sitting far behind the crowd of students, next to a window. _ What if you could make her smile too?_

That was enough to give me courage.

(Quick! If you can, search for the song Promised World sung by Miku and Len, to see what I'm getting at. OuO)

"Sono karada mo koe mo nanimokamo cattleya hanakotoba sonomono adokenai, hitomi no oku no mashou ni hadome ga; kikanaku naru koto o shitta adolescence."

Everyone (almost everyone, I suppose) started clapping along to make a beat. Kasane Sensei was smiling.

"Kindan no kajitsu no ajiwai, ano hi futaridake no himi wakachi ai mamoru tame kasaneru bakashi ai ni. Mou kidzuite ita owari no hajimari, nomerikomu ibitsuna brave story. Karamiau ten to sen ga zurete iku yooni tsunagareba tsunagaru dake fukamaru kodoku no. Hate bokura ittai nani o torimodosu no? Marude kusari tsunagareta shuujin-fuku kite subete o ubaikaesu juujigun. Mou iidaro? Itami datte juuni-bu. Ajiwattanda utanakya shuushifu."

I stopped and there was an abrupt moment of claps. I wasn't used to the praise of other people. "U-uh..." Well, I had managed to capture Miku's attention. She was staring at me, bewildered. Sadly, there was no smile on her face. "Wonderful, wonderful! Where did you ever hear that song?" "I...made it up on the spot." Girls squealed, but Rin rolled her eyes. "He's not _that _good," she said to the pink-haired girl. "What?" Kasane Sensei was confused. "I was under pressure!" I said. I wasn't comfortable with all these eyes on me. Rin was the one used to the spotlight.

"You know, your brother really is cute," the pink-haired girl said. "That's because he's a lot like me, Momo-chan," Rin snorted. "Yes, I'm almost exactly the same as my green-eyed, psycho social and narcissistic female twin," I retorted. "Haters gonna hate," she said with a shrug as I sat down.

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**Len's POV**

"Aah! The rain is so-" "The Sound of Music!" I said quickly. "What?" "The Sound of Music. RIN. When the dog bites, what are you supposed to do?" "Getting scared of thunder is one thing. Getting my hair totally soaked is another!" She whined. "I meant that you should sing the song so I could have some peace," I retorted. Her light green eyes locked on me like a cat when it spots a robin. She was pissed.

Suddenly a silver corolla pulled to a stop on the curb. The door opened. Kaito flashed us a smile. "Need a ride?" "Oh, thank GOD," I sighed. Rin crawled into the passenger's seat. I was about to head in myself, and then Kaito stuck his hand out. "Sorry. No more room." He jerked his thumb to the back seat. There were stacks of papers. The saxophone was carefully set next to it. Then ice cream pints neatly piled n a big cardboard box. "Good luck!" He tossed a white umbrella at me, shut the door and drove off.

"Thanks!" I called after him. I rubbed my temples and opened the umbrella. _At least this thing is in good condition. Okay, my revenge is set. He won't be seeing this umbrella again._

That keeping me going, I continued down the pavement. The rain didn't seem that bad, looking at it and seeing how silver it was.

** Miku's POV**

_"M-Miku-chan, don't we need an umbrella? A-and permission from Nurse-chan?" Haku's red eyes. I remember them so clearly. They normally sparkle with tears. They normally day from place to place. "We don't need anyone but each other, Haku. That's how it's going to be for a long time," I reassure. She grabbed my hand tightly. Always. I can remember she refuses to show her face and so I take the ribbon from her favorite teddy bear's fluffy neck and tie her hair back. It was so long..._

Every day, I can close my eyes and remember something two reckless children would do. To them, to us, to me, it was games and adventures to escape The White Coat. My damaged mental state constantly made sure my companion was there and there and disappeared.

No matter what, though, I always liked the rain. It's cold, and No one I know likes it. The rain can be like me at times. I liked getting drenched with the rain. I didn't care if I got cold and sick. It felt like I was temporarily washing the blood of my nightmares off of me. The cold did that better than a hot bath. Sadly, the relief of no sticky crimson stains didn't, doesn't last forever. Once The White Coat returns, I'm tainted again.

I wished that one day I would wake up and Haku would be next to me, shivering because if I, the strong one, was ever afraid of something...

My eyes burned. What was that burning sensation called? There were so many ways to say it, so many different languages that could describe it with one word, a paragraph, a sentence. Ah, yes. On the verge of tears. However, I don't cry. Crying is not for the strong. I am not strong. The burning disappears. The wetness on my cheeks is only cold rain.

Suddenly, the rain isn't dripping on me. The sound of water beating against a fabric is above my head. I look up, seeing a white umbrella above me. _Strange, isn't it? Obviously, Len has been behind me for about one minute._

"How did you do it?" I asked him. "Do what?" "Make up an entire verse of a story. In less than a minute." I turned to him. He showed me that grin that I...h...ha...

"Talent." He shrugged. "And I suppose fear as well. Rin's more comfortable around people than me." "Why don't you give up on people, then?" The boy is weird. He makes no sense. "Because it's not human to just give up," he laughed, nudging me. "You disgust me," I seethe. "Hmm. That makes me sad. But the fact of not giving up means I'm not giving up until I see you smile!" The vibrant cerulean eyes were determined. The exact opposite of my so beloved sister. Was that why? "Leave me alone. Please. I want to be alone." I look up at him. I feel so weak, because he's stronger than me. He's stronger.

He flashed me a smile. "All you have to do is say so." He put the white umbrella in my hand. And then he turned away. I did not regret telling him that. He...he always found a stupid reason to smile! There was something wrong with him. There couldn't be a reason to smile! And it was sickening. Optimism was something I never had! That smile I saw, I can't stop myself from h-h-ha...

I swallowed. My throat is warm, I can feel the dryness keenly. _The smile that I love?!_


	9. Boys

Shrimpy: It seems that every chapter I make is longer than the last...but easier to write, though this is the first to be less than two thousand. Ah, I forgot. I couldn't properly thank you last chapter, but I practiced this time! And the raccoon isn't here either. So, Thank you! The reviews I received all made me smile! Doesn't matter if there's two or two hundred, okay? And I'll try my best to develop the story better. My math teacher stresses me out. Oh, too much. Enjoy the chapter.

** Miku's POV**

_"No, no, no, no, no, no, noooo! I don't like him! I promise!" I scream. But those girls wouldn't listen. All I could do was receive non-stop blows._

_"Why should someone as amazing as Yohio Senpai ever be disgraced by you?" Declared CUL, the lead bully. "Stop! Please, stop!" Their kicks hurt the most. All those girls were wearing hard heels. "Hmm...Mizki, take a quick pic. We don't want to forget this dance, do we girls?" This resulted in a couple of pleased smiles. "S...t..." CUL leaned down and cupped her ear. "What's that, hon?" "I said..." I pulled the red and blue pocket knife out of my pocket, opened it. "STOP IT!" I stuck the blade into her arm. She screamed in pain._

I-I'm sho-shaking...somebody, save me!

"_Miiiiiiku...Miiiiiiiku,_" she sobs and sobbed. "Haku!" I rise from the piano bench. My beloved sister, my beloved Haku...where are you? I'm here! I kept the piano clean and working, just like I promised!

I would cry, but crying is a waste of energy, water and time. It's something we do did had done all this time to reveal. Reveal or weakness. And the strong one can't be weak if she saves her...Her little sister...Her White Feather.

Isn't it strange, isn't it odd, isn't it peculiar that Alice made her way to Wonderland all alone? It was because she never asked anyone to fall with her through the rabbit hole.

"_Miiiku...I'm scared..._" "Haku, I'm coming! Wait for me!"

The words. The ones that follow her cries for help are cries of p-pain.

_"Miku, I'm scared."_

_"I'm going to f-fall!"_

And lastly-"_Noooo...Miiiku, help me!_"

I gasp. There was still time before she fell-falls. To her broken bones and bruises. To a close death.

The walls that cover the tomb. The nightmares. They adapt to their surroundings. They color the walls dark and let the cries echo.

"Haku! Wait for me Haku I'm coming to get you!" I ran through the hall, the one darkened before my eyes. "Please, Haku, stay still!"

"_Miiiiiku, why won't you come? I-I'm...f-fa-falling!_" her soft, panicked voice...her bright red eyes...even her silver hair...would I ever see them?!

Will I ever get the chance to see seek her?

"Haku!" I freeze froze on my spot. She's there. Standing. Her arms. They've spread out, spinning, winding as she continuously tries to balance herself. She's a ghostly child. Boney and small, pale skin. Bright red eyes. Cherry red. Blood red. Her white hair is loose and free; her ribbon, the last piece of proof I had that she was ever here...she no longer possessed it. She teeters teetered over the edge. So dark.

And she slips. "HAKU! NO!" What could I do other than leap after to insure the frail child's safety?

"Hey!" The cut of a familiar voice. Suddenly arms wrap around me and pull me. Away from the rail, away from Haku. The sound of her dropping and hitting the ground is there. It's loud. She cries and screams. "NO! LET ME GO! SHE'S FALLING!" Some hand covers my mouth. "Ssh! They don't know we're here!" And I bite. Hard. There's a yelp of pain. I can taste blood on my lips.

"Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go! Haku's hurt! She needs me! She needs me, let go!" "Miku...there's no one. You're seeing things." "No...H-Haku..." The darkness seems to fade. "NO! YOU BASTARD, LET ME GO! I CAN HANDLE THIS MYSELF!" "Miku, it's okay to be scared. I'm not judging you." I can feel him lifting me up gently. Carrying me like some kind of princess. "Haku...she's hurt...this was the worst t-time in her small, small life...and you just pull me away from her like that..." "If it's any consolation, you really hurt my hand," he said with a soft laugh.

I opened my eyes, if only for a second. The darkness is fading. He was taking me back to the piano room. "Geez, Rin was right! Girls really are heavy." "If you were less of a shrimp, maybe this wouldn't be a problem for you," I said, a calm sense returning. "Hey, I _am_ bigger and stronger than you are, Miku." "Doesn't matter. If I'm not strong in the first place, that still makes you pretty weak."

He...all he did was laugh. Laugh like nothing bad had happened. Then he set me down. It seemed that we had reached the piano room. "...Haku's hurt now..." "Who's Haku? I didn't-" "You didn't see anyone. Yes, I know. No one ever does. They don't even know who she is." He sat down next to me. His cerulean eyes seemed sad, but they tried to hide it. But that is an attempt like hiding a giant bright light behind thin blue glass.

"You...you seem really close to her," he said. I nodded. I refused to look up, no matter how much I wanted to see that stupid smile that made my heart feel at ease. "So much so that...to be honest, I'm actually a bit jealous." WHAT.

I instantly jerked my head up. There was a faint blush on his face. "Well-I mean-I want to be..." his eyes darted to the window, me, the piano, and finally to the floor. He sighed. "I want to be close to you, too."

_ How do I respond?! Haku...was this what you felt when I asked..._

The memory simply flashes at me. I can feel the emotions I've kept buried beneath, and they burn. They almost burn in the corners of my eyes, but, alas...

**MEMORY 01**

"They're strange children," the Nurse admitted, "but they're kind and raised right. I'm sure your daughter will be fine." The woman with dark brown hair bit her lip. "Should we...?" She turned to her husband. "If the medical professional believes so, then this place is right for our daughter," he responded. She nodded. "Then, let's go..."

The frightened face of her daughter was hid by long, messy hair. She hugged her teddy bear. "...Haku."

The room was a playroom, of sorts. Children dressed in hospital gowns and scrubs were running around, talking, playing with toys like baby dolls and balls. Most of the children seemed perfectly healthy and happy. There were some sitting quietly in seats, perhaps with Haku's condition. Haku hid behind her mother, and she whimpered. "Ah!" She took notice of her child's fear. "Haku, go find someone to play with! Mommy and Daddy will be right here!" She swallowed and forced a bright smile. The little girl shook her head furiously, almost revealing her...specially colored eyes.

"Haku, maybe if you play, you'll find someone you really like, and then you can play with them all of the time," father suggested. She shook her head again. "I don't want to play. I want to stay with Mommy and Daddy. I don't want to play with anyone here." Her father sighed. "Haku, if you can't play normally, we may have to leave you here tonight, with more doctors." She gasped, shaking her head furiously.

"Yuu-kun! Don't you dare scare her like that!" Mother scolded. The smile was wiped clean of her face. "I refuse to lie about it. Haku, try and make a friend. Please." The little girl hung her head. She gripped tightly the am of her site teddy, Vino.

Sitting before tuned building blocks, Haku tried to make a task tower. She set the last wooden block on top, and it came tumbling down. She sighed. Mommy and Daddy could be right. She was bad at being a child. "What's wrong with your face?" "Kyaa!" Haku jumped and spun around on the floor. "Huh?" She saw a teal-haired girl standing before her. The girl seemed bored, with her dull stare. Her hair was tied up in two pony tails.

"What's wrong with your face? Why are you hiding it?" The girl demanded. "I-I don't..." before she could even think of what to say, the girl pushed back her fringe. "No! Don't look at me!" The girl cocked her head as Haku brushed her bangs back into her face. "Why? I think your eyes look nice," she responded. She showed a faint smile that faded as soon as it appeared. "M-my eyes are horrible...don't look at them..." Haku was on the verge of tears. The girl picked up a stand of Haku's white hair. "Red is a pretty color. It's the color of roses and ripe apples and new crayons. Why are your eyes horrible?"

Haku looked up, astonished. She was right! And new crayons were really, really awesome! Suddenly, the girl dropped the strand of hair and gently took Vino from Haku's hand. She pulled black ribbon off of his neck and spun Haku around. Before she could protest, the girl pulled back her silver hair and tied it up with the black ribbon.

"See? Pretty." Haku reached behind her to feel the ribbon. She felt it in the silky shape of a bow. "Really..." for the first time since a month ago, Haku smiled. "I'm Miku Hatsune," tealette said. "Come play with me." Haku nodded, and Miku took her hand. "What were you playing?" She asked curiously, following Miku without trouble. "I was coloring." "W-with new c-crayons?" Hope rose in the little girl who was afraid of people. "Two new red ones."

**Miku's POV**

"Why?" "Huh?" Len looked up from the floor. "Why is it that you keep helping me, keep saying you want to be kind?" "Well..." he laughed nervously. "Um...promise you won't laugh." "Does it really seem like I'd laugh?" "Oh, right! Promise you won't kill me," he corrected. I sighed. "I promise." "It's mostly because I just want to help, but it's also because one day I want to see you smile...because...you could be the craziest person on the planet but..." he gulped. "Well? Is that all?" I demanded. "You're...Really cute." He closed his mouth as soon as he said it. His face was a new shade off crimson, one more intense than I was used to seeing on skin.

Hmmph. Boys.


	10. Wow, Onii-chan!

Shrimpy: I've been concentrating really hard on the plot, yet...Sadly...

BWAHAHAHAHA I'M BAAAAAACK Yes, we know! Stop scratching the screen! YES, IT IS I, THE RACCOON WHO DEFIES THE LOGIC OF THE AUTHOR I said stop, Dammit! Yeesh! Anyway, I know someone out there is close to the answer. Sometimes...the truth is the reason you think of something the wrong way. So...if it's not too much trouble, go ahead and write what you think is going on in a review! I'll take a look and see just how close your guess (educated or not) is. Oh, I'm real selfish keeping you here. Ah, there's the story! Just up ahead!

**Len's POV**

"I heard from a certain friend that you confessed your love to a very bad girl," Rin suddenly said, grinning. "W-what? Who said that?!" "Aha! So you did confess your unconditional and eternal love to a troublemaker!" She cried, jumping off of the couch. She giggled. "I didn't confess anything to anyone! And who saw me with Miku?" Rin gasped. Her face went totally white. "Nobody told me anything, that was a wild guess! Onii-chan, that's crazy! You _love _ her?!" "I never said anything like that! Yeah, I like her, but-" "Gotcha! This is going to lots of people, so hope you sound good!" She said with an evil cackle. She waved a tape recorder in the air and ran up the stairs. "Rin! I swear, if anyone hears that, I'll kill you and then kill myself, so no matter what I'm dragging you down with me!" GOD, IF ANYONE HEARS THAT!

"Heehee! Just try and catch me, Onii-chan!" Rin only ever called me that when she meant business. I ran after her, my face burning shades deeper if red. I almost tripped heading up the stairs, but I still kept running. "Rin! Destroy the recording and-and-" "And what, 'big brother'?" She turned around, hands on her hips with a pleased smirk on her face. She knew we were constantly fighting about who was born first. It sort of seemed like a privilege to be the older one, but Mom and Dad said they don't remember who was born first. Those two hours seemed to waste away as every two years passed. I sighed, and stopped running. Secret weapon time. I let out a small laugh and showed her my own grin. The superior kind.

"Destroy the recording and no one finds your secret love letter." She gaped at me. She clutched the silver recorder in her hands tightly. "You...you promised you'd never tell!" She squeaked, fear present in her bright green eyes. "And a good brother, of course, doesn't break his promises. But I can't prevent one of your exclusive Gossip Girls from posting it on the web when they find it mysteriously stuffed deep into their locker." "Jerk! Fine. I won't spread that recording. But I swear, if Oliver-san finds out that I wrote him a love letter in middle school-" "Actually, there's a fifty-fifty chance he found out long ago, but being a 'gentleman' he decided not to say anything," I explained casually. "No..." She sighed and spun around. "That good-for-nothing British Popeye...I got over him a while ago, which means that letter means nothing, but you just HAVE to hold something so old against me, you ass." She folded her arms and turned to me. "Here's your stupid tape." She tossed the recorder. "Return. The. Recorder. That thing's not cheap," she ordered, walking over to her room.

"Seems like a golden opportunity to destroy the damn thing one and for all, but whatever."

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** Len's POV**

"Grandma, you okay?" All I did was go into the kitchen for a banana, and she was leaning over the sink, gripping the counter. "First...Her name was...It's on the top of my tongue!" "Grandma, did you start playing an RPG? Those things are crazy, you know." "Len, honey, I'm trying to remember the name of that girl Rin reminded me of. Her name, it's on the tip of my tongue, but I honestly can't remember. I know the meaning of her name, though." "Hmm? Well, what is it? If you can remember how you learned the meaning, maybe you can learn exactly what it was that triggered the meaning, our her name," I suggested, peacefully munching on the banana. "Ah! YES, the meaning of her name is-" "KYAAA!" I jumped. "Rin!" without thinking I tossed my banana to the table (and missed, what a waste of a perfectly good fruit) and ran down the hall. Her scream came from the bathroom.

I reached the doorknob and grabbed it. Then I remembered that she could be naked. Eyes widening, I slowly backed away from the door. No way I was going in there. She was...indescent! "AAAAAH! NO!" _Rin, you owe me big time! _I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the door out of the way. "Rin, what's wrong?" I demanded. I opened my eyes and realized she was dressed in her favorite blue sweatpants and a white tee shirt. "Spider! It's a spider!" She shrieked. I looked down at the floor and saw a small black thing walking easily along the floor. "Kill it before it gets me!" She cried. "Kill it...before..." I laughed. Then I kept on laughing.

"It's so small, Rin! Could it really...pfft...could it really kill you?" Chuckling, I knelt down next to the spider and held out my hand. It crawled on. She looked at my hand strangely, but she bit her lip. Then she sucked in a breath. "It's your fault that I'm afraid of them in the first place! You and Oliver!" She whined. "Oh, so should I eat it, or..." She gagged. "Len, shut the hell up and get that thing away from me!" "It's not even a tarantula," I muttered, cupping the small spider in my hands. "It's still a spider!" She shuddered. "I can't believe Oliver ate a tarantula..." "Doesn't help that he was terrified of them," I added. "Take it away! Take it away!" She screamed. "Ah, fine." I stood up and walked away with the spider still crawling over my palm.

Confused? Allow me to explain. Oliver's big brother once brought home a tarantula. Their mother reluctantly allowed him to keep it. And Oliver got bitten by it. Ever since then, he was absolutely afraid of spiders; tarantulas, more specifically. One day he made a bet with the worst bully in our school, and he had to eat a tarantula. You can guess what happened after that, and he wasn't really...the same. He was actually looking forward to eating a fresh-fried one when he could get his hands on it one day. Other than that, though, he seemed normal. I'm pretty sure that experience scarred him for life.

"So Grandma, what was the name?" I asked, walking to the back door. It swung out of the way when I pulled it. Maybe it needed a repair. She sighed. "Oh, I completely forgot. I was worried about Rin, but she didn't really...well...need any assistance." "Hmm. Well, don't strain yourself to remember. She can't be super important," I assured, dumping the spider on the ground of the backyard. She huffed. "What?" "It may not be important to you, but it's pretty darn important to me. Not giving up now!" "Alright Grandma. So, when's dinner?" She huffed again, but said, "We're having pork chops in a few hours." "Len, is the spider gone?" Rin asked, hugging pom-poms to her chest. Gold and red, the school colors. "Gone. Why?" She strode over and grabbed my hand. Then she held it up. "Aha! I knew there was something wrong! Who bit you?"

I gulped. How long had it been since...

"U-uh...I tried to make friends with an alley cat, then I got too close." I laughed nervously. "Should have tried something safer." "Liar! There's no way a cat has teeth this worn! This looks nothing like a cat bite. This is obviously..." She smiled, and I gulped. "...A human bite!" Grandma spun around. "Rin! How many times have I said not to bite you're brother!" "Grandmaaaa! He was bitten by somebody else!" "I got bit by a cat! CAT!" I said, feeling my face get warm. "Lies! It was a human! What were you doing that got you but by a human?" She narrowed her eyes. "I...I-I..." She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "You were trying to muffle screams...my brother is a rapist!" She cried. Grandma's eyes widened. "Len...tell me right now..." "I DIDN'T RAPE ANYONE! STOP INSISTING THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE!" I talked at the top of my lungs. "Len Kagamine, what on Earth are your saying?" I turned around. My mom, with her bright green eyes, was looking down at me angrily. "Huh?" My Dad was glaring. "I think it's time_ we _have a talk as well."

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** Len's POV**

"I see...so it's just our girls overreacting," Dad murmured. "Well...I suppose you're too timid to do such a thing," Mom mused. "That certainly makes me feel better," I responded sharply. "I can't believe my own family would accuse me of doing something so horrible!"

"You aren't of the hook here just because. We still want to know why someone would bite you!" "I put two and two together. Len got bitten by Miku Hatsune," Rin declared. "Couldn't you have figured it out before, sister dearest?" I retorted. "Miku...Hat...sune? You mean the daughter of the distinguished lawyer, Mikuo Hatsune?" Dad asked, straightening. "Yeah. She's some kind of schizophrenic or something. She's a crazy chick," Rin explained, tossing her shoulder-length hair. "She is NOT crazy," I found myself saying. "You would know, wouldn't you, brother dearest? Because you fancy her." She raised her brow in a suggestive way. I sat back in my seat. "You would certainly know that Kaito's a moron who eats so much ice cream his brain is frozen." She shot a quick glare. "Weird. Hatsune-san didn't mention that when we spoke."

"Eh? You know him, Daddy?" Rin asked. "We met upon my promotion. He was in Germany, for some reason, when we met, and he did mention a daughter, but..." He shrugged. "Ah, well. You two go wash up for dinner." "Dinner's in a few hours." "Then go do something with your lives. At least you have the energy and time."

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Shrimpy: that was short and dramatic. I don't know any family that would accuse the son of RAPE out of the blue. But the stupid raccoon had something to say, so I had no choice OnO

I CAN UNLOCK THE PADLOCK ON THE TRASHCAN AT LEAST I'M CAPABLE OF REMEMBERING A PASSWORD YOU TERRIBLE EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING

Note to self: change password. Again.

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT FEAR ME MORTAL I AM ALL POWERFUL WITH MY PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY AND SHARP CLAWS

I don't want anyone to grow used to the raccoon. He is a jerk. SHE I HAVE PROPER FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS AND I AM OF PROPER AGE TO PRODUCE A CRAPLOAD OF MY PEOPLE UNTO YOUR WORTHLESS KIND You know what? I'm not giving you the privilege anymore. Animal cruelty means hurting animals, not Satan's exotic pet.


	11. Lean Closer

Shrimpy: So...ah...Miku and Len are a little more aware of what they feel. Good, hmm? That means this thing is progressing and we're all moving forward. There are a few major decisions that must be made soon. Otherwise this will end in a rut OnO but don't worry, I'm try to make them as best as possible. Also, since I possess no social life and procrastination is my best friend when it comes to school work, I wrote this.

BLEUGH BOOOOOOOOO shut up! I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible! Hmph. Okay, here's the chapter I promised. Um...there's also some otherwise unexpected profanities up ahead. SHE MEANS SOMEONE IS GOING TO SWEAR LIKE A TRUCKER WHO DROPPED HIS TWINKIE OUT THE WINDOW DURING LUNCHTIME

**Len's POV**

"So did you hear? Len Kagamine, that cute guy from our science class, has a crush on Hatsune." I looked up, noticing a couple of girls talking about me. I don't suppose anyone knows it. Most people fall in love with or have a crush on someone loved by everyone. But...I liked someone who was _hated _by our peers. Maybe someone does know it, but it hurts to watch people do such things to the person that you like. I'm...I'm not denying it anymore. I really do care, really do like her. It's just that she's the kind of person with her head in the clouds. And how I could tell, I didn't know.

What really irked me was that Rin didn't tell anyone. She was that firm with the secret love letter thing. But somehow, someone managed to feed the crowd all this information. "It makes you wonder if there's really someone amazing hiding under that Hatsune Miku," the other girl replied with a nod. "Our maybe he has a thing for the crazy chicks. Guess that means I have to be diagnosed with schizophrenia to ask him for his number." "Hey, not true! He's friends with sane people." I sighed. But this time it wasn't because I missed Oliver or Wales or, strange enough, my old home.

My next period was science, but that was where rumors tended to fly. Akita Sensei was okay with gossip as long as it was something that couldn't get anybody killed or psychologically wounded. There wasn't a large amount of those, which was why even the laid back science teacher wasn't considered very fun. And it was also why there was a lot of talk about Miku. I sat in my seat just as the song "Jingle Bell Rock" began to play. Luka claimed the principal thought it would be fun to play at the beginning of the year, but the recording got stuck and we were stuck with it "for eternity until Santa Claus got sick of it."

The sound played and I looked up at Akita Sensei. He was furiously typing something into his cellphone, then stopped and looked up. "Okay, so we're trying to bring a rat back to life with electricity, but obviously we need to know a thing or two about conductors. Can anyone name one simple conductor?" He asked.

Rei Kagene raised his hand. "Are we talking about the underground railroad? Because I didn't study-" "Rei Kagene, we are talking about electricity. Two more and it's a detention." "I'm sorry, but I genuinely didn't know. Yesterday we were taking about Carbon-14, then you changed the subject to the anatomy of a bear." Akita Sensei rolled his yellow, cat-like eyes. "May be that way, but being an actor here this should come easy to you." Rei sighed. "Yes, Sensei." He nodded. "Alright. Roll call. Aoki Lapis?" "Here." "Hatsune Miku?" No one answered. That was an immediate indication that something was wrong. But I didn't know what. "Has anyone seen Hatsune-san?" He asked, looking around.

Rei raised his hands once more. "I saw her, in the hall today. Maybe she spazzed out again and ran away?" Students nodded in agreement. "Hatsune-san? Hallucinating in the morning? That is likely. I'll get the school nurse and-" "Actually, Akita Sensei, Kagamine-kun is pretty good at calming her down. He should go, too, in case she has a fit," Lapis said. "Hey, since when have people known _that_?" I asked, turning to her. She shrugged. "I heard someone saw you calming her down when she was yelling about some chick falling." There was a low murmur going among the students. "Alright, order in the court. Kagamine-san shall go looking for her while you peasants sit and learn about electrical currents," Akita Sensei declared loudly.

He nodded in my direction and I just stood up.

Walking through the hall, I saw a couple of people but not many. For some reason, I bumped into Rin. "Len? What are you doing it if class?" She asked, folding her hands. "Something is wrong. Miku didn't show up to class today, but we know she's here. Have you seen her?" Rin looked up at the ceiling and tapped her chin. "Come to think of it, no one really knows where. I saw something strange today," she responded. She fiddled with her bow and then looked me dead in the eye. "When she was walking away, I thought I saw someone suspicious watching her, too." She froze up for a second, then gasped. "Hatsune-san!"

It took no more words between the two of us to understand she had adopted my goal. She followed me in a tense stalk through the building. "She could be in trouble!" She yelped, biting her lip. "HATSUNE-SAN!" Rin called suddenly through the mostly empty hall. "HATSUNE-SAN!" "This is really, really bad," I muttered. I knew all too well that there were people who totally hated her. That girl with that emotionless haze, always dreaming about the past...the girl with her head in the clouds was in trouble.

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** Len's POV**

Before long, everyone realized how serious Miku's sudden disappearance. People were taking, suggesting to_ me_ places I should check. But none of them were correct. I didn't really understand Miku that well. I knew she was relatively calm. And, more importantly, I knew that she at least would hide in a place of comfort. Thinking about it, she would hide no where near the stairwell. She proved that to me when she bit me. The room with that piano she liked so much? Probably. But there was something about the way she acted in that room that indicated it was kinda important. I honestly think I should be a detective; in conclusion she would never hide in that room because she wouldn't want to lead her attackers in that room.

I gulped when I thought of that word. _Attackers_. There was a violent feeling I got. I realized that there were a lot so could fit under that description. And that made me feel like I couldn't trust anyone anymore._ Is this how Miku feels? Scared and unable to trust?_

Everyone seemed to treat it like a normal thing at first. I understood that she skipped many classes and didn't speak much. Then the principal got very worried and asked the students to "help the Kagamine twins and the nurse in their efforts to locate Hatsune-san." It wasn't very long until the principal would go into panic and call her parents along with the police. I was too worried to think about class, to pay attention.

I wonder, how long did it take to realize it? I was heading to lunch when it clicked. Miku hated the dark. She mumbled something about it when she was passing out, as I vaguely recalled. I mean, if she could scream that, she's probably would. And what if...depending on whether or not she was attacked...She had been so desperate to run away that she had run into some place dark?

Instantly in my mind, I created mental images of dark places. An unused room, a closet. Somewhere with a convenient amount of shadows, helping a scared person hide. "Rin," I said. She looked up from the papers she was reading. "Huh?" "I think I know whet Miku might be."

She nodded, but I wondered if she was understanding it or not when I grabbed her hands and dragged her to the nearest closet. So, I explained, "We have to search dark places that sometime could hide in. I'm positive Miku was attacked." She looked sad, but she understood now. "The basement. That's the darkest place she could be," she confirmed as we continued walking. "How do we get in? I think that if we tell the principal, she'll have someone else look, and..."

I didn't know how to end that sentence. But she understood that, too. I think that's the best and worst part of having a twin. "Leave it to the awesome big sister to crack this case wide open," she proclaimed, her grin returning. We walked around the students, weaved through those crazy crowds pouring into the cafeteria. Then we stopped at a grey door hidden under the shadow of the stairs. I was about to say it was locked, there was no way of getting past that. Then she pulled one of her white hairpins off her bangs. She stuck it into the lock and picked around for a bit. Then there was a click. She pulled it out and snapped it back into place on her bangs. "Well, open it," she instructed.

Obediently and in awe I turned the knob. It went without force and we started at the steps. "Ladies first," I reminded her.

"I wonder what kinds of stuff they put down here?" Rin mused as we descended the wide steps. The echo was ever present and eerie. "Left overs of models and broken things. Luka told us this is like an underground junkyard." The answer hung in the still and cool air. There wasa bluish, haunting glow coming not far from ol the bottom step. Rin didn't seem disturbed, but we were both dreading the last step. There was the horrifying possibility that I was wrong, and Miku had truly disappeared.

This time I couldn't say "Ladies first" to Rin, so I had to step forward. I gulped and closed the gap between me and the basement. It was genuinely weird, but there were halls. The blue glue was some lamp on the wall that looked suspiciously similar to a bug zapper. Then I saw something that made my heart lift. A figure slumped against the wall, hugging their knees tightly. In the cold light, their long hair looked like ashen blue.

"Miku," I said, sighing in relief. She flinched at the sound of her name. Then she looked up. She had that deer in the headlights look, and then I realized something. Her jacket was torn in certain areas by the seams, bruises on her face and hands. There was blood. It stained some of her hair, some of her skin. It was oozing from scratches and wounds, and actually becoming a puddle on the floor. My heart sank. "Miku..." I took a minute or two for all of it to sink in. Her busted lip and ripped socks coupled with the lost look in her face made something grow. Something negative.

"Who did this to you?" I asked, waking over immediately. She winced, looking down at her shoes. Then she looked up at me with eyes that were too...I can't even describe it with words. "Bruno." My eyes widened. "Rin, please takes Miku to the nurse's office. I'm going to notify someone about this," I said. Rin stared at me, gaping. But she obeyed what I said and walked off to Miku. "Hatsune-san, please come with me," she said softly. That was unusual for her.

The anger that I felt was extreme. It used to be irritation, about how people could be so mean. Seeing her changed that. She was wounded and alone, probably even too afraid to leave the dark and get help. GOD, what kind of BASTARD would do that? Bruno.

I didn't notice how many people I passed by. I just calmly went over to Bruno's usual spot in the hall. He was leaning next to the lockers, his back to me. Determination and anger boiled beneath the surface, and it had never been easier to walk up to him. Gakupo was standing there, too. Then I realized something that I had been blind to for a week. It had bugged Gakupo, kept him silent at lunch. Bruno had asked him to help him in his quest for revenge, and he hadn't known what to say. That fueled something else, and I tapped Bruno's shoulder.

He turned to face me. The second he did, I drew my fist back and gave my attempt to punch his lights out. Pain shot through my knuckles, wrist and elbow, but I didn't care. He gave a groan of pain and reeled back. "That's for hurting Miku, you son of a bitch!" I snapped. He was still in shock that such a weakling would hit so hard. Then I took the opportunity to punch him again. I could hear a crack. "That's because Rin just doesn't fucking like you." He wiped the easily gushing blood from his nose. "You wanna go, Tinkerbell?" "Hey!" Gakupo out himself between the two of us. "This is your fault too. Why didn't you fucking tell me?" I demanded. He went silent. Huh. How easy it is to get angry.

"That slut had it coming," Bruno growled. "She got me a suspension and a stab in the arm." "You'd better shut the hell up, you asshole. If you go near her again, I swear to FUCKING GOD I will-" "You'll what? What can you do?" "Lots of things, Bruno. You never know, a hit and run happens every. Single. Day." I shot him a smile I had never worn before. One that showed because I was pleased with the shock on his face.

I turned away and started walking. Once I was out if earshot, I sighed. I said so many things I wasn't proud of. They were just there in the heat of the moment. I wished, more importantly, that I hadn't said those things to Gakupo. He was just a friend stuck between two sides. I was positive he never meant any harm to Miku, which was why he wanted to back out so badly.

But I wasn't going to apologize to them. I was headed for the nurse's office, to see if Miku was going to be alright. The principal had probably called her parents.

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** Miku's POV**

Where's Len? It's stupid, but I'm wondering why he didn't come with me. It seemed unlikely.

And I didn't tell anyone what I was thinking. I didn't tell anyone anything. "I'm not speaking without my lawyer present," I say stubbornly. "And you don't count Father, because frankly we're related. Nepotism." "Nepotism doesn't count when you absolutely despise me," he countered. Ah, the lawyer. I wonder, is that why Yokune Ruko went for him? Is that why she became Hatsune Ruko?

"I want my own attorney. It's either that, or you're getting nothing out of me." The peroxide the Nurse out on my skin stung, but I held my own. And my breath, as the pain was sharp. "You don't want to name the person or people who hurt you? Really Miku?" Ruko rubbing her temples. Ruko was tall. She was taller, though not really noticed, than my father.

"Technically, you can't," the nurse said, looking up. Ruko and Father shot her their synchronized glare and she pressed her lips closed. "Don't hurt the poor woman because she agrees with me. If you would please, is like to be left alone," I said. "Screw it. Miku isn't talking," Ruko threw up her arms and wandered through the door. "You are a perfect example of disobeying the second commandment," he accused.

"Fifth."

Like Ruko, he threw up his own hands and walked out the door. "We're taking you home shortly."

The nurse glanced up at me. "Nothing here is severe. No scars, just weeks with stinging." "I'm no cheerleader, Miss. I couldn't care less," I replied dully. "Really? You seem pretty enough. Well, I'm new here. Wouldn't know. My name is Sonika," she said. She gave a smile, then set the bottle down. "Sit tight for a moment. I need to grab some gauze for this nasty cut over here." She patted my hand and walked deeper into the office.

"...Ah...hey." Len forced a smile. But it made me sad, rather than secure. That was the same for all fake smiles. He sat down next to me. "What did you do?" I asked solemnly. He sighs. "Something I kinda wish I hadn't." He looked up from the floor to meet my eyes. The blue gaze seemed hollow, making me even more unhappy. "I was just...I punched Bruno." This was something interesting. He took a deep breath. Tired. He seemed so tired. "And I said something to Gakupo that could have been a lot better said." I let out a small giggle. It's dry of any amusement and joy that could have been. "Hey, lean closer." "Eh? Okay..." he did as I said, but only so much. He was angled closer like he was expecting me to whisper a secret. So I did something unreasonable. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer, resting his head on my shoulder. I could feel him tense up.

I was doing something strange. Something I didn't usually do. Something I never did. "What you did was very, very stupid," I said softly. "You not only regret it, but you hurt your friend without a doubt, may have destroyed several friendships, and Bruno will want revenge soon enough." "I thought this was supposed to comfort me," he muttered. "No, just make it easier to accept the terms of reality. It isn't working, though." He sighed. Was it my imagination, was it really that loud, or was it just because he was close? The sound seemed loud to me. "I dunno. I'm comfortable here."

I didn't understand. One minute he could be smiling like a child, the next blushing bright red about something he said. And now here he was in my arms, acting like it was the most normal thing in the world. Were human emotions that strong and vivid? Really that easy to change?

I'm glad I couldn't carry the same.

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Shrimpy: I sincerely apologize!

That was super long, shocking, and there were strong emotions I was hoping for others to feel. I wish there was some kind of sixth sense I could use to see how many people said "OH SNAP HOLY CRAP GLAD I'M NOT BRUNO", but no one's going to just say that. It's actually really dumb. I didn't even intend for it to rhyme.


	12. Rin to the Rescue!

Shrimpy: shocking chapter, no? I mean, I was surprised, too. I didn't think I'd go with it, but now that I did it just makes for a good new chapter. "Wow, Onii-chan!" Barely served a purpose in the story. The raccoon ate a diaper, so we won't be seeing him for a little while. And again, if you can I totally encourage writing what you think is happening. It's good to think while you read.

Oh. Here goes...a lot!

**Len's POV**

There was a rumor. It spread quickly across the school, and it got crazy. After all the things that happened a few days ago...all of which I know I could have done differently...I lost a kind of control I could have kept.

The rumor was I was planted in the school. I never wad a student. Some people actually began giving things I _could _be an alibi. A nark who went rogue seemed to be a pretty popular one, which irritated the crap out of me. That, of course, wasn't true, but people liked the story and Rin wouldn't let me hear the end of it.

"You're famous school-wide now. Everyone is going crazy. Now tell me why you would punch a freaking jock in the face, in front of everyone?" She pressed, her brow knit together. "I got angry, okay? Plus, you know, you hate him too." "Yeah. I heard you delivered one punch in my name," she said proudly, smiling. She straightened a bit. "I guess it seems sweet, but everyone thinks you're a badass now." "Anything but. I haven't spoken to Gakupo in days and I really need to apologize," I sighed. "Well, I don't know where he is. In fact, we haven't really seen a jock so much as go around Hatsune-san. You must have hit so hard that Bruno's scared," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Rin-chan! Rin-chan!" A voice called. We turned. It was a girl with long blond hair in a lopsided ponytail. She was waving her phone in the air, crying out at the top of her voice. "Neru-chan? Weren't you sick?" Rin asked, confused right along side me. We stared as Neru swerved around a crowd. "I was, but you-" a golf cart whizzed right in front of her and crashed into the wall. Rin gasped, and we hurried over to the cart. Smoke billowed from the front, and Rion stepped out, coughing loudly.

"Neru-chan!" Rin cried. "I...I didn't see anyone there," Rion hacked, leaning against the wall. "That's because she wasn't," I sighed. And right on que, Rin's phone rang loudly with her favorite ringtone, "meltdown" muffled by her pocket. She pulled it out and examined a text message. I, being a brother, looked over her shoulder and saw the message:

Rin-chan come see me after school near the football field. There is a pic to die for on my phone 8-O ttyl

"I'm sorry, but how could a picture on a phone be 'to die for'?" I stepped back and she punched in her reply:

i'll b there, what's the deal?

Then she shoved it into her pocket, shrugging. "Now that we know she's okay, we should take Tone-san to the nurse," I suggested. "Everything's peachy," Rion said with a nervous smile. "Speaking of peaches, I think Momo-chan it's acting pretty strange, too. My cheerleader senses are tingling," Rin said.

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**Rin's POV**

First it was Momo-chan. Then Neru-chan. Then Rion, the girl who sorta shared a name with me. It effected all of the cheerleaders, and as it turns out there was a reason no one told me yet. Luka-chan scolded them for their secrecy, but cheerleaders can sometimes behave like a cult. Fine with me as long as we didn't do something triple C: Crazy, Creepy and/or Cryptic.

By the time I got there I couldn't believe the looks on their faces. There were some blushing, some of them were screaming with delight. Some were just totally shocked. And they were all staring at Neru-chan's phone. "Hey, what's going on?" I asked, carrying a duffel bag close to my chest. "Rin-chan, your brother...kyaaa!" Neru took her phone back for a second to type something in furiously. My phone jingled with "meltdown" and I reached into my pocket. Digging around, I finally got a full grip and slipped it out.

KYAAAAAAAx3 Rin-chan this is soooooo cute!

Beneath that was a picture of Miku and my brother...cuddling?! It was totally adorable! I couldn't believe it! I felt my face redden. "W...wa...oh, Neru-chan, how did you get this?" "I was in the nurse's office yesterday, with a fever, and I was going to find the nurse, and I walked in on this. Len must reeeeeeeeeally like her, no?" There was an actual smile on her face. "Ah, the rumors could be true, then!" They all grinned.

So I took an opportunity. "No!" I snatched Neru-chan's phone away. "If you guys tell anyone about this, the photo well be deleted. I need you to help me eradicate the rumors, because they aren't true. And, they get this guy pretty pissed." I grinned and shook the phone, holding it up so they could know I wasn't bluffing.

"Okay, Rin-chan! Don't destroy the photo, it's really cute!" Rion pouted. "Gladly. Remember, though, for the good of the photo we get rid of the rumors."

_You owe me big-time, Onii-chan!_

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** Miku's POV**

Could Haku watch me from heaven? Would she even bother? She was too busy being happy. I couldn't really mind.

But I had always protected her when she was getting hurt. Why didn't she do the same?

I can sit here forever and tell you things that don't matter. I'm doing it right now. I look back and wonder, "was it worth it?" I could tell you yes, but I would be lying. Lying to you and to myself, forever. Got eternity, doesn't matter.

I was sitting. Alone. In the piano room. Our precious piano, my sister's piano. And my sister's song. The ones she wrote, the one she played for me. What was the name? She didn't. She didn't name it anything...

But the sounds are fast. I can remain on the piano in my dreams, those that are hollow and grey. I can be stuck. I am stuck. I was stuck.

Is there a cure for insanity? No. Insanity isn't real. It's what happens when we don't...can't afford a clean vision of the corporeal beings we know.

The White Coat. n. The vicious thing that stole a being. The definition I played over and over again in my head. it was only meant to be a joke, but it stood for something cruel I could not let go of.

I wonder why I was given the painful gift of thinking. It hurts so much. It hurt to remember, it burned to remember that I could still feel the ghosts of pain left behind.

But there was a smile. Someone who _smiled _at the wreck that they saw, not afraid of it.

Len...what he did was so stupid. But it was kind, too. What was wrong with him? I had no room to say that. My title as "the schizophrenic" didn't leave enough room on a line of words. He claimed he wanted to make me smile. He couldn't. He never made me smile...did he?

I had...have no right to think that, though. I'm weak. I've always been weak. So...worthless...

_ Len doesn't think that. He looks at you and he sees a fighter. Don't you know that? But I always saw that. I've always been here for you, Miku-chan. I love you._

The voice took my breath away. "Ha...Haku..." I looked up. What was that white flash I saw in the corner of my eye?

_Come with me, Miku-chan! It's so boring going unnoticed! You, me, Vino and Nurse-chan, we'll all go together!_

That group...I remember, I remember that! Vino, our polar bear friend. Nurse-chan, the lady who played with us. Haku, my ever beloved sister. And me.

"Haku...I can't go with you."

_Wha...why would you say that? Vino and I, we're waiting for you. Nurse-chan is still making pie to take with us, but oh, she'll come! We can all go together to the garden and have picnics all day long. Don't you want that?_

"Oh, Haku, my sweet, sweet sister...you're dead. The White Coat killed you a long time ago. And Nurse-chan died. She went another place, and she can't wait for us."

_NOOOOO! YOU'RE MY...MY MIKU-CHAN! Y-YOU CAN'T STAY HERE, YOU HAVE TO COME WITH ME! You have to come...w-with me..._

"You know I can't." I laughed. Always immature. That was Haku.

_ It's because of Len, isn't it?!_

"Haku...what?" Another dry laugh.

_ You love him, so you want to stay here! And I have to wait even longer. I hate him, Miku-chan. He stole you from me. Vino went away a long time ago, and you want me left all alone!_

Was there something I could say? Was there something I should fix? I don't understand, where did Vino go? Why was he gone?

"Vino...is gone?"

_ He's been gone for a long time. Remember?_

"No...I don't remember." I'm so tired. I'm so...dead inside, I can't breath without thinking...

_It could have been you. But I didn't want out to be you, only to realize you wouldn't be grateful._

"I'm sick of living!" I cried, starting up at the ceilings. "So, stop pestering me! You're ruining my life! Go away!"

"So~ Rin-chan, how do you think your first kiss should have gone?" A familiar cheery lilt floats through the room. "My first kiss? Hmm...maybe it would have been better with another person." I scramble off the floor. The ringing in my ears seems to echo away. I was alone.

Hiding behind the piano was very simple. No one could find me. If they did, the piano would be taken away from me. And I couldn't allow that! No one could take it away!

From the door, just ajar, I could see that Rin girl, walking with Megurine and Neru. Her nose crinkled in distaste. "The boy I kissed is someone who could have been better. I'm glad I moved, he's a real jerk now." They giggled. Teenage girls are so strange. "My first kiss was with Rei Kagene," Neru sighed. "No way! The funny guy?" Rin jumped up and down a couple of times. The creaking reached my ears and got louder towards me. Please don't notice the shifting, dear God.

"Yeah, but it was when he wasn't a DOUCHE. Now he's some kind of playboy. You know he's been with two-thirds of the cheerleading squad?" "Including the cheer captain," Luka cut in. "Don't fall victim Rin, he can be quite a charmer when he wants to." More giggles. They stopped in front of the door. "Go away," I prayed under my breath. "It's okay. There's a boy I've sort of had my eye on this whole time," Rin replied. "Ooh~ it's Kaito, right?" "Actually, y-" my foot moves, but too fast.

The piano bench loudly skids across the wooden floor.

_Ah, shit!_

They all turned their heads to me. I slowly rose from behind the piano. "I...dropped my contact on the floor." Quickly I snatched under the piano then clenched my fist. "Megurine, Akita. Kagamine." I acknowledged the trio with a nod, then strode over to the door on the other wall. It felt foreign to me, really. I turn the knob of the art storage door and slip inside.

"Len-kun may like her, but she's still weird. In a way I feel bad, but it's her fault too." Megurine and her voice annoy me. I clenched my fists.

"...Let's ask her to talk with us." There was a unison of gasps. "If she's that bad with people, maybe she could use the practice." "If she agrees, there's no guarantee we can play nice," Megurine sighed. Rin cheered softly and I could hear her feet lightly tap the boards of the floor as she headed to the door. She swings it out of the way and startles me.

"Hatsune-san~ want to have a chat?" She asked, a bright grin on her face. Reluctantly Akita and Megurine nodded to me. "It's fine. I'm leaving." "What a coincidence!" "We were just getting my bag and then we were heading for Rin's house," Luka explained.

What do I do? No one ever asks me for this. And I don't need any charity. I'm not-

_Yes you are. _ The thought cuts in quickly. "A chat. Just some talking," I agree hesitantly. "Yay! This way, Hatsune-san!" She gestures to the hall out the other door and I follow.

We fall into step next to each other. It's now a small group. "We were talking about first kisses," Rin needlessly volunteers. "Mind telling us who yours was, Hatsune-san?" "First...kiss? That's ridiculous. No one would-" "Len-kun probably would," Neru says while humming. "I barely know him myself. Please don't make assumptions like that." "Hey, let's drop that topic. Miku - do you mind if I call you Miku?" Rin offered up a nervous smile. "No." "Well, do you have any hobbies?"

(Shrimpy: Again, I feel like this is here to spite me.)

"I actually enjoy repairing broken instruments," I responded carefully. Yes, since I could fix and tune the casket of a piano that I played, it was quite easy for me to tune a guitar and fix a broken string. Though it is an exaggeration to say I enjoyed it.

"Anything else?" "I...I used to love cooking. But not anymore." "Ah. Well, how about we talk about..." she looked around, her brow furrowed.

She brightened. "Beauty tips! There's one to try on really long hair, and your hair fits that description. If you curl the ends, I think it would sort of have a magical affect." Neru brightened. "Picture this: BLUE. HIGHLIGHTS." She squared her fingers to make that ridiculous picture gesturing. Luka's eyes widened. "With enough conditioner, we can make her hair nice and shiny!"

They all grinned at each other and I gulped. "Kyaa! Makeover!"


	13. Make a Pretty Girl

Shrimpy: Eheh...nothing like smearing your face with concealing cream to bond with fellow students. This chapter is really heartwarming, and I hope you readers can enjoy it. I read over it and I cried because I knew this would never happen to me. OnO But regardless, I have no idea how any hair products work, but it's convenient because neither does Miku. I _tried_ to do some research on hair dye but I couldn't understand two sentences of what I read. Forgive me if I'm wrong about something.

The raccoon is still sick. It's not that I care, there's just some of you that liked him. (In the background he's screaming at me that he has "underside proof of 'her' gender" the foul mouthed bugger.)

If you want to say something, you shouldn't have eaten a diaper! (Now he says he thought it was wrapped up, week old take-out food.)

Well, here's your chapter. Thank you for reading this stuff, I know it's a bit odd. OuO

**Miku's POV**

Why? Why did I agree to come with them?!

They didn't really...want to speak to me. They needed some fresh material, a name I reluctantly use to title my hair, to use in their latest experiment. They just needed my hair.

"It's long. It's dull and a bit unkempt, but once we deal with it we'll have it all nice!"

"Hey, maybe we can trim it if it's alright with you and your parents," Neru suggested. "Hmm. My parents wouldn't have a say," I murmured softly. She sealed her lips and Rin giggled. Such strange creatures, these girls. "Well, let's head on. My home is just around the corner, and once we get there we can start planning!" She said.

The Sun was dropping slowly, and the sky above was changing. The clouds had illuminated undersides and I knew the late afternoon would eventually drag into a twilight. The sound of our footsteps on the pavement was the only sound that could really reach me. Their chattering was loud, but not very. Occasionally, Rin would turn to me and say, "Right, Miku?" in an attempt to get me in on the conversation. I would just nod.

Why was it that now the other Kagamine was trying to make me change? Or rather, make others change and accept the member of society that they had shunned for so many months?

"Hey, we're here." I glanced up. Their house was white, with fresh green grass growing in the front. There wasn't a lot of it, though. "Miku, I luckily have some blue dye on me today," Neru said, pointing to her backpack.

I nodded once more. Strange creatures.

"So Kaito really likes ice cream, right?" Rin said, walking up the steps. "I ask him, 'chocolate or vanilla?' And he just sits there like his world has ended." Megurine laughed. "He just can't decide on any one flavor." Rin was laughing, and she seemed so relaxed, so happy.

She reached into her pocket. Her laughing stopped abruptly. "Damn! Forgot my keys," she sighed. "Watch your language," Megurine scolded playfully. Rin shook her head, a faint smile present on her face. "Never!" She knocked on the door, each knock fast and urged.

Then there was an indistinct noise from behind the door. It swung out of the way, revealing a living room. The walls were painted a cheery yellow - Rin's signature color. And someone with his back to us. He was wearing jeans, but no shirt. His hair was blond and shoulder length. It was also wet. And the white towel on his shoulders indicated that he had just been in the shower. "Y'know, Rin, I didn't know where you were for half an hour and that worried the crap out of me," he said. "Next time call and say you'll be staying behind so I don't-" He ran his fingers through his hair and turned around, looking cross.

That irritation gave way when he noticed us other girls. His eyes widened. Neru giggled. "I'm home, Onii-chan," Rin said apologetically. Luka waved. And then he glanced at me and his face turned crimson in the blink of an eye. "P-pardon me!" He strode away, and then the others started to laugh. "I wish I got a picture of that!" Neru chuckled.

After a while, about five minutes or more, Rin's laughing died and she wiped a tear from her eye. "Ah, my stomach hurts," she said. She turned to Megurine. "C'mon, let's go to my room and start this up." She grabbed Megurine's hand and mine, while Neru followed behind us.

Walking down the hall, I noticed pictures hanging on the walls. Pictures of two blond children with a grey haired woman. I pulled my hand from Rin's light grasp. "Who's this?" I point to the photo. The children were laughing and having a good time. But the woman had a different kind of smile, which reminded me of Haku. Why, though? Haku didn't smile much.

"That's my Grandma. She's out with my parents right now," Rin explained. "Why?" Akita and Megurine were looking at me. "...Nothing. I just thought she looked like someone I once knew."

Rin's room looked like a room for a princess. There was a big white canopy bed and the walls were pink. She had some stuffed bunnies and kittens sitting on her neatly made bed. Their was a vanity on the wall next to the door. The surface in front was cluttered with makeup, like lip gloss and mascara. Neru walked straight over and picked up the brush. "So! To the makeover!"

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**Miku's POV**

What they did to my hair was mostly a mystery to me. They washed it, using all sorts of products. Words on certain bottles caught my eye: conditioner, shine, infusion, moisture, breakage, dense, volume. Most of them seemed like words from a science project.

They were rinsing, taking excitedly. "You sure are calm, Miku," Neru said. "I suppose," I muttered. "Come on! Play a little Beauty Salon! Lean on us about something!"

"Beauty Salon?" I parroted. She laughed. "Talk to us about your life and we'll listen," she explained. "Of course, with your hair like this I suppose you haven't gone before." "Neru-chan!" Rin exclaimed. Akita shrugged. "There isn't anything to say. Please just get this over with." Rin turned off the sink and grabbed a towel from the rack. She dropped it on my head. "Okay, I'll get a blow dryer. But we'll have to wait a little. Using a blow dryer on dripping wet hair isn't good." She winked at Megurine and walked out of the room.

Neru grabbed the towel and started rubbing it all over my hair. "'Kay. So. Do you have anybody you really like?" She asked. She had deep concentration on the top of my head, brusquely drying it. Luka pulled out her phone and started doing things on it that I can't describe. Texting, perhaps? I had a phone, but I didn't really use it.

"No. No one." She raised her brow. "That's surprising. It's there anyone you like a _little_?" I remained silent. Should I say something? Should I say "no" again?

"Yes. There's someone." She pumped her fist. "Progress! Okay, mind telling me?" She leaned down, her face right in front of mine. Her yellow eyes were inquiring. "He's...it's..." There was a brief sympathetic smile. "You don't have to tell," she said. And with that she was humming again. The rubs are more gentle now.

Something being around Len has taught me is not to question kindness, because I can't get an answer.

"I'm back. Don't you guys have fun without me!" Rin said, pouting. She had a red blow dryer tucked under her arm. Neru held up her hands. Megurine shrugged. "So we have got your hair clean. Should we trim it, Miku?" Rin's green eyes lit up. "I don't see why not," I muttered. "Ah! We have to be careful. We need to preserve some of your natural look so it doesn't shock anyone at school tomorrow." "Speaking of natural looks, why is it your hair is styled the same all the time?" Neru demanded, lifting up a strand. "My mother...never was good with other styles. And I take after her." I don't call her my mother. Why did I call her that now?

"Ah. Well, it's okay. We're good with that," Neru claimed. Rin took over with the towel drying and spoke to Megurine. Neru checked her notifications and I was essentially alone.

"Right, Miku?" "Hmm?" I looked up from my hands. "Len is strange," she began, "he's a dork most of the time, but with certain people he can act sorta like badass." "No. He's not really a dork." "Eh?" Neru cocked her head and Megurine furrowed her brow. "He sometimes acts like a child, but he's very mature. And sometimes he just gets angry," I said, holding a firm gaze with Rin. "Miku, you must know my brother pretty well!" She said with a giggle. "Lu-cky! Most of the girls on the cheerleading squad would kill for that spot," Neru cried. "I can see why. He's very...kind. Rin, why does he smile so much?" Rin crinkled her nose. "Len's actually been smiling very little since we moved here. So why..." the talkative girl was suddenly silent. Megurine remains silent as well.

"I bet that if we gussied you up and presented you to Len-kun, he'd have a nosebleed!" They all began to giggle. Strange creatures. "Please don't. I'm trying to live down the decision to come here." They just laughed louder. "Miku, don't be so pessimistic. It would be funny, wouldn't it?"

"No."

It was strange, but at the moment I wanted Len. He was the one who comforted me, after all. These girls were scaring me and I wanted to get away to somewhere safe. I just kept hoping he'd tell the girls to calm down and leave me be, but he wouldn't want to face them after that episode.

I quieted the thought of him standing there with that irritated expression, still...Ah, never mind!

"Ah, okay. Her hair seems pretty dry right now. Guess that blow dryer was for nothing." "What we should do right now is add highlights," Neru said, shaking the blue and black bottle. "Fine. What type of blue is it, anyway?" "Uh...Ice Blue, I think. It's, like, from Europe. I can't really understand what it means." "Yes, that'll be great! 'Kay, Miku, let's get started!"  
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**Miku's**** POV****  
**"Well, the dye worked. And so did all that stuff we used on her hair. I mean, look at this! It's soooo shiny!" Neru held up a lock of my hair. Some of it had yet to dry, but I felt that the colors were looking nice. What a strange word to use, when I hadn't even seen the finished product myself.

"But you feel like it's...too long." "Well~ It could look nicer at a different length and style," Neru replied. "I don't want to cut my hair off!" I cried. Rin's eyes immediately softened and she looked at me. "Well, I don't want you to either. I think it looks really nice, being this long. Yeah, Neru. We're keeping it looooooooong!" She spread out a long strand of my hair to emphasize. her armspan wasn't long enough to hold out all of it.

"Okay. Compromise. We _trim_ the end. Make it straight and see where that leads us. Agreed?" She held out a hand with a pair of silver sissors. She snapped it open and closed a couple of times. This was an exceeding violation of the safety rules we were all taught as children, but She did it anyway. Rin shot a hand out and set it on the sissors, which Neru had shut upon her movement. "Just a trim," She said, than she looked at me. "Sorry we're taking you through all of this. I couldn't imagine it in a million years that you would be used to all this prodding." She grinned. This smile was sweet. Rin herself was the female version of Len, and she smiled as much as he did. But I saw no similarities between them. I felt...I feel that Len's smile is the one I love much more. It just makes me forget the hardships.

I was told to sit down on a chair, and they spread my hair out behind me. Neru was still quite shocked to see that someone could grow their hair out this much, but I was already used to it. Never have I been bothered. Strange creatures.

"This is a lot of trimming," She mused.

Megurine stared down at it. "I've seen your hair millions of times, Hatsune, but I've never imagined it to be _this _long."

"Just trim it already," I sighed. Neru picked up the sissors and carefully started to cut along the ends.  
Rin would gasp occasionally, probably about a near mistake Neru might have made. "Miku, Do you think after this we could try a braid? I know your hair is really long and all, so leaving it down like it is now would be a hassle." It's true. My hair is long. I had it short, once, but...memories were constantly harrasing me. I refused to get my hair cut by someone I couldn't trust.  
_If that's so, why are you letting this girl do it? You don't trust her as far as you can throw her. She's crazy. She's someone who's been hating you for a long time as well.  
_I tried to convince myself that was a lie, that Neru genuinely was getting used to me as she worked on my hair. It's still a lie, isn't it? "Ne, Miku," Rin said. I looked up at her. "I probably shouldn't ask, but do you hate us?" I gasped, startled at her inquisition. Why? I had always been afraid of these people, prefered not to talk to them. I always said I hated them, maybe even convinced myself that I did. But why did that suddenly seem like it was an evasion?  
"Hate you? I don't hate any of you. I just hate...I hate..." The word was suddenly a bitter and unfamiliar taste on my tongue.

"I hate myself." Yes. Ending with that word, this sentence is a perfectly normal thing to me. Stop asking, dammit! "I'm pathetic. I'm not strong, or smart, or in any way kind to others. I just feel like people haven't done enough for me, when I know that's not true. There were so many people, some that dedicated their lives to helping me, and...I..." I heard my voice crack. My heart poured out, and for some reason I felt a deep pressure in my chest. my eyes burned to release tears, but their was no point in crying. Crying was for the weak, but I was not strong. I simply never deserved the luxury of crying...and...and... "I'm really not worth your time. You don't like me, and you just pity me, so...I'm sorry! I'm going home, I shouldn't be here." I realized how much I was trembling, but it was an embarrasment to myself and to them.

Suddenly, hands just the same size as my own clasped MY clenched fists and held them. "Hey, don't say that!" Rin suddenly said. "No one is that worthless, especially not you!" Her eyes glisten, with...tears?  
"He didn't say anything, but before Len-kun met you he was quiet and unhappy. He really misses Wales and Oliver and the people we met there. But you make him smile! It took a while to realize it, but he really, really cares about you, okay? And if you make my brother happy, you make me happy too." I was shocked to hear such a confession from the cute, popular, and strong socialite who people adored. Her tears spilled onto our hands, and Megurine rushed over to her. "Rin-chan! Are you alright?" Neru stopped snipping and rose from behind me to Rin's other side. "No, no, I'm happy! I'm...really happy..." She wiped her tears off on her sleeve and smiled. "If you girls tell anyone about this, though, it's off with your heads."

The other girls were as confused as I was with her behavior, but no one commented on it.

"Well, I trimmed. So the ends are even. What we should really focus on now is the style we're putting in it. Now that I really focus, putting THIS into one big braid wouldn't really work, would it? So we sould try something else," Neru said, sitting down on the bed. She flopped back and grabbed a kitten sitting proudly on top of Rin's fluffy light green pillow. Megurine walked over to Rin's vanity and picked up a white hairpin. "This is Rin's signature, tacky clip," She teased, a mild grin finally on her face. She turned to me. "Obviously none of Rin's accessories would work." "I have a scrunchy," Neru suddenly volunteered. I turned to her and noticed she sat up again, holding up a blue scrunchy and stretching it a couple of times.

"Blue scrunchy? Really, Neru-chan?" Rin giggled. She sat next to Neru and nudged her. "Oh, right. I have more colors." She reached into her bag and pulled out a rainbow of that particular hair accessory. "No, silly, she needs something different." "Her bangs are as crazy as Rin-chan's. So, maybe we should use a hairband?" I was aware of Rin and Megurine's knack for that one, so I quickly spoke up. "No, I don't need that. You don't need to-" "YES we DO, Miku-chan!" Rin whined, jumping up. "We need something that would compliment all this blue and turqouise and teal that grows out of your head." She walked over to the vanity, and next to Megurine she searched for her answer.

"Huh. Well, how about we put it up in the same style it was before?" "ACK!" Neru coughed and hacked violently while Megurine ran over to her. I was frozen in the chair. "Are you...KOFF...kidding me?" She coughed a few more times, but eventually regained her composure. "Same...style?" "Don't have a cow, Neru-chan. I remembered some ribbons that Grandma gave me once. They're over...here!" Rin lifted up a small box. She pulled off the lid and revealed a set of lovely ribbons. They were black with a long pink stripe going down the center. "C'mere, Miku-chan!"She gestured to me and then to the bed. I didn't have anything else to do, and so I walked over and sat down. She sat next to me, Neru lying down behind us with an aggravated expression.

She took my hair and separated it into two parts. Then she used the ribbon to tie it up. She did the same with the other part, then she pointed to the vanity. "See, Miku-chan?" She said. "You're so pretty." Neru nodded. "Come on, Miku," she added, "smile!"

Smile. Even after all of what I've gone through, even after my worst losses in life, _even _after the greatest gifts, that word is a damaging one to me. I buried my face in my hands. "No, no, no," I spoke through my fingers. "Well just look Miku-chan," Rin said. I forced myself to glance up. What I saw was a girl sitting between two excited blondes. Her teal hair was shining and it looked soft to the touch. She had pale skin and she was sad. Her eyes were sad and cold, even if they were bright. Running through that teal hair are streaks of light blue. Her hair is tied up in twin tails with silky, fancy bows. She was me, and she looked somewhat like me.

"I'm going home. My brother's asking why I haven't come home," Megurine sighed. I glanced up at her, and she seemed disgusted and bored and upset.

She is that way because I'm still here. She hates me. "Oh! Bye-" Rin's light voice was cut off by the slam of her door. How rude Luka is.

"Ne~ Miku-chan," Neru said. "Do you have a phone on you?" "Hmm?" I turned back to her. Her yellow eyes sparked with interest, though her face suggested slight boredom. "Yes. Why?"

"Open it and hand it to me."

I nod and pull it out of my pocket. Then I turned it on. After typing in the password, I handed it to Neru.

She opened up "contacts". Her eyes were a bit sad when she found three phone numbers there: Ruko, Father and Doctor Honne being the names they were listed under. Then, like the speed texter she was, she typed something in. Rin's eyes lit up and she said, "Me too!" Neru handed the phone over and Rin followed her typing actions. Passing a smile to each other, Rin handed the phone back to me. I looked down at the screen and saw two new contacts added, the names being "Neru-chan" and "Rin-chan The Totally Awesome Bestie".

I was overwhelmed with instant emotions. They hurt, and some also felt good to have in my heart. "Really..." Rin giggled and whipped out her phone. Her and Neru typed some new number into their contacts, then Rin smiled and typed something extra. My phone rang with the familiar song "Love is War" as a ringtone. I look back down at it and open the first text I have ever received.

hey bestie ;p

This happiness...was it going to fade? All I can do is reply. I realize, as I tap the keys to make this text, it may take a while to become familiar with these controls. My response:

hey

And finally, hers:

I got ninety nine problems but grammar aint one


	14. Little Albino Girl

Shrimpy: Happy Valentine's Day! Here, have a nonexistent butterfly shrimp. You too. And you. Here, butterfly shrimp. And that empties my nonexistent basket, because I didn't have many in the beginning. Actually, I had something really important to tell you guys. As soon as the raccoon recovers from "her" illness, we're going to be co hosts. "She'll" be my companion. I don't like it or get much of a benefit from it, but whatever. Anything for these kindle screen. "She" will be called Ruko because 1: we aren't supposed to give our real name 2: Ruko Raccoon has a nice ring to it and 3: I'm not sure of the raccoon's actual gender. Just thought you would like to know, if you've been reading this far. OuO

Enjoy the new chapter! (That is if you like this AT ALL.)

**Len's POV**

I knew that I would have to do it eventually, but I was feeling extremely panicked about having to face Miku again. Especially after my...uh, indecent state during or last encounter.

DON'T judge me! I had no idea that there were going to be other people, there was no time to find a shirt and Rin had seen me without pants before. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal. And in the end I embarrassed myself.

I had only expected Rin. Or someone in my family. Wow. Point is I'm scarred forever and those girls are not. They laughed like crazy once I left, and I know for a fact Miku had been there and seen all of it. Oh God.

I normally am the stressed out "big brother" when it comes to being twins. I just feel like it would be best if I got to relax too. Then Rin didn't show up on the walk home. Then I got really suspicious of Kaito.

I was walking aimlessly through the hall, noticing a few giggles and becoming self conscious. That was normally me, but this time I was overreacting. No one had said anything about the epidemic. Then suddenly there were excited murmurs. I almost couldn't stop blushing before I looked back. Then I realized everyone was looking at Miku, who was standing with...

"Rin?" I remembered she came to my home last night, and I remembered she was with Rin. But what happened after that? Did they really bond and become friends over it?

_Shut up, I'm getting a headache, _my mind growled. But I couldn't stop the questions pouring through like water.

Miku's hair looked different. It was shining under the hall lights. There were light blue strands in her hair. And her pony tails were tied up with Rin's ribbons - the ones she got from Grandma. I think I was amazed that Rin would socialize with her. She was all worried about her reputation 90% of the time.

"Hatsune must have a spell of some kind on the Kagamine twins," whispered Lapis. How the hell did I find her in the hall again?

Rin glanced up and saw me. "Hey, Oniiiii-chaaaan!" She cried. She grabbed Miku by the hands and led her over to me. Miku looked like she was about to die of exhaustion. But she kept up with Rin better than most people. After passing through the huddle of actors, they finally reached me. "Onii-chan, what do you think? Did we do a good job on Miku-chan?" Miku blinked, and suddenly whatever drowsiness that had a hold over her didn't have it any more. "Uh...It looks...nice..." I scratched the back of my head. Run frowned. "_Nice_? It's not _cute _or _fitting _or _original_ but _nice_?" Miku shook her head. "Rin, please stop. You're attracting unwanted attention," she said. Rin huffed, but she quit talking. That still left many people watching. Miku shifted uncomfortably under the watchful eyes and silence between us.

"Rin-chan! Rin-chan, this is very important!" Yuzuki Yukari was jumping up from behind the big sea. If she was doing that rather than texting, a really popular thing going through the cheerleading squad, she needed the attention _immediately_. "Uh oh. See ya, Miku-chan, Len-kun~," she said. She waved then backed into the dense circle that existed for no reason.

We were left alone. Then there was the squeak of strangers and we were left in the dust of the track team as they sped by. I mean they were _actually _ kicking up dust. Miku was stiff against the locker. "So Rin is your friend now? That's good. She'll be a bit of a handful, but it's worth it. She can be really nice sometimes." I didn't know what else to say to her. She nodded in response.

The silence was killing me. It was better than the whispered rumors that usually cut through. (I swear that my ears were going to bleed.) Then she said softly, "Rin it's scary, but she's very sweet."

"Yeah. She really is." The lights above us seemed to flicker. There was that lingering smell of paint in every breath I took. For the first time, I really took into consideration that this was a building. I also thought about the multiple times Rion almost ran over someone inside of it. It was just...walls to me most of the time. Walls and stairs and that permanent scent of paint.

And for some reason Miku was doing that, too. She started at the colorful banners that bedecked the spaces above lockers. Then her eyes darted to the lockers, the floors and she looked carefully at the entrance at the end of the hall. "It's a prison," she murmured, "a prison with pretty paintings and inmates." "I'm trying to start a conversation, but you're making it a little hard," I said. "I don't like conversations. They all end."

"How about we do something that doesn't end?" I suggested. "And what would that be?" "Well, there's..." I bit my tongue. I was about to make the freaking water cycle my example.

"Uh...there's pirating, but we can't really do that." _Great job Len. Great job._ She stared at me, obviously perplexed. "We can get bored. There's always a way to do that," I muttered. Losing the point. "You're so stupid sometimes. I don't know why I..." She pressed her lips together tightly. "You're so mean," I sighed. "But I can't expect any less than that."

"I'm not _mean_," she said defensively. "It's just that I'm used to better excuses than the ones you make." "I still turn something in at the end point," I reminded her.

"What's the point of 'turning it in' if it's so bad?" She demanded. "It's proof that I tried," I explained simply. I had forgotten all about the embarrassment I had felt. An argument of this nature always puts something else into focus. I was able to forget about..._that, _at least for a while.

"And still for nothing," she finished. She turned away, about to walk down the hall. Eyes were on her, but now it was more of an audience than a panel of judges. Simple colors were obviously not the case. The fact that she was hanging out with Rin now was enough to shock half of the neighbouring schools. Although there was nothing said to the other schools, I was sure of it.

Where did the thought come from? I didn't want to regret not proving her wrong. As though I could prove _ everything _ wrong, but I found this more important that usual. I grabbed her hand quickly. Then I blurted out, "it's not nothing to spend time with you." She turned, her mouth opened with just some surprise. I think I had her speechless, for the most part.

I realized just how embarrassing _that _was and earned the colors to prove it. My face burned with red. "Ah...um..." I let go of her hand. There was an uncomfortable expression on her face when she looked up at me. Then she spun around on her heels and walked away as quickly as her legs could carry her.

_Oh, God, what have I done? _I slapped my forehead with my palm and landed back against the lockers. The thud behind wasn't very satisfying.

"E-excuse me," asked a soft, light voice. I moved my hand off of my face just enough to see a girl with long white hair. Her eyes were vivid but fragile looking; vivid cherry red. She had her eyes on the lockers, but occasionally those intense red eyes flitted to me. "Oh, sorry." I stopped mid step, realizing this girl was tiny.

She looked up at me for a good second and let out a small shriek. She spun around on her heels and ditched me to the crowd. The big, compact crowd. Which was filled with many people who were taller and bigger than she was.

"Hey, be careful!" I called after her. "Careful about what, Len-kun?" The familiar smooth, mature voice could never, amazingly, startle me. I looked up. The face was unhappy, almost unusually upset. I knew that Rin would totally kill me if I said that though. "Nothing. Scared away an albino girl. So Luka, I haven't spoken to you in a while," I said with an apologetic smile. She stared at me, like I was going out of character. What was wrong? Those warm, almost motherly gray blue eyes were the same. Why not the mature smile?

"Gakupo. He wanted to meet with you this afternoon. Three thirty in the gym. It sounds suspicious, so bring something reliable just in case," she muttered.

"Luka, you okay? You look upset."

She forced a smile. "I was up all night memorizing a stack of play lines as thick as my waist line on Valentine's day. Plus the big bro went and got pissed at me because I wasn't home on time." I nodded, though I felt bad that there was nothing I could do. "Oh, and did you say albino girl? Tei Sukone, that timid cutie. She's probably just scared because she hasn't seen you before," Luka explained. "She hasn't? Haven't I met everyone? Or almost everyone, any way," I asked. She shrugged. "Many things escape Tei's attention. She didn't even know she was in high school until about a month ago."

Everyone here was insane. I kept that tucked into my mind.

"Three thirty, right?" I repeated. She nodded. That dissatisfied expression melted with the smile so it was confusing. And I was beginning to think there was more than play lines and brothers going on in her mind.

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** Miku's POV**

_Am I really...alone up here?_

This..._normal_ thought fluttered through my mind silently, and I thoroughly inspected it. I was cold. The higher the floor, the lower the temperature, because those janitors are constantly complaining about the heat. That I do not understand. They don't really do anything but walk around with a mop.

I turned over on the piano bench. What had Len said? It burned in my mind, drives me crazy.

_I liked that he said that, _I pitifully admit to myself. Only to myself. Not to Haku.

Although, Haku was not pestering me. No abusive words in her lovely little voice are whispered today.

And yet I punish myself. _Stop it. You're not supposed to._

I carefully nestled my head into the wooden surface of the bench.

_...am I?_

I took a moment to breathe. The breath escaping my mouth in a sigh. Yes, focus on that. Pretend that I can only breathe. I don't deal with problems. I'm a rock, thousands of years old.

That was a breathing exercise Dr. Honne had taught me. How comical that a smoker would teach a schizophrenic - borderline, borderline personality disorder or otherwise - a breathing exercise.

But it isn't any use. The comfort of the stiff wooden bench wasn't enough calm my nerves. And neither was that silly breathing exercise.

It's funny. I'm feeling more worried about being a teenager now than ever before. I never even thought I classified as such. I was told most of the time that I was just like a kid.

I whimper and pull my knees up to my chin. Am I really so weak? Can I not be just a little strong for once? Please, God, why haven't I been killed yet?

_Stop it! For once in your life be the strong person Haku thought you were! You're a mess and you should attempt to change it instead of praying for help that won't come._

Deep breaths, I reminded myself. I was getting tired, listening to my angry conscience school me about what should be done.

It began to get peaceful, the farther I slipped under. My mind began to close off every noise I heard. First sharp, then warbling like it was from the end of a tunnel. Finally nothing.

I closed my eyes longer with every blink. The light that escaped the small window's opening is pouring in. It's dying while I fall asleep.

I don't usually dream. Sometimes I do. And the dreams are usually of Haku.

Then there's the one dream I wish to have every time I sleep. And this time I really had that wonderful dream.

_Golden sunlight strategically peeks through the gaps in the green canopy. The sound of wind rustling through leaves. It's the sound that accompanies old wind chimes. The breeze is cool on the hot day. The Sun is lowering behind the rich green hills. Theirs is the sweet smell of living grass. Said plant tickles my bare skin._

_I'm lying flat on my back, taking in the vivid setting I've always loved. Beyond a few hills is a strawberry field. I've never gotten up to see them, but I picture them always sweet and ripe, red like rubies. I can smell that sweetness mixed with the cool winds that blow over from the north to the south. _

_That is all that is ever present in the warm, rich fantasy, but I always loved it. _

_Take in the scent of ripe fruit, _

_Feel the sun on your skin,_

_Enjoy the quiet always lingering._

_Leave me alone here,_

_Leave me alone._

_Always, forever,_

_Eternity._

_The poem that formed the world I knew. I usually allowed it to flow through my mind without hesitation. But around the final word, I felt a great sadness. Did I want to cry? Yes. Would I? No._

_It's because of all the wonderful people I've met in my life. Why do they make the loneliness sound so evil?_

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** Len's POV**

_Why did Gakupo want to be so secretive?_

I looked around the gym. It was silent. Someone had left the lights off, making it very eerie.

"Luka's warning just has you paranoid. You trust Gakupo, don't you?" I stared at the basketball hoops hanging above me. It really seemed abandoned with no noise. The hoops were secure where they were, but I couldn't help a gulp when I noticed how heavy they looked.

After five minutes of wandering around, I was extremely comfortable with the silence. There was absolutely no one but me. I shuffled aimlessly, occasionally glancing up. The white ceiling seemed to stretch up forever.

Then something heavy hit the ground hard. It's sound echoed across the room and - no SHIT - it wasn't a mouse.

I spun around. Gakupo froze. His hand was tightly gripped on the strap of a backpack. The darkness of the entire room turned his hair to a darker purple, almost black and purple. He laughed nervously, saying, "I didn't mean to scare you."

I shoved my hand into my pocket. "Could you tell me why we're here?" I asked. Gakupo nodded. He yanked up the backpack and tossed it over his shoulder. "I wanted to apologize...but, see, I didn't know how I could. I got someone hurt. And that someone was important to you...right?"

I nodded, but I didn't have anything else to do about it anyway. He walked over to me at a leisurely pace. "I was being really...I guess _mean _about it. Punching the school's worst bully was fun, but I said some things that were wrong," I sighed.

"Like that hit and run threat. I don't even own a car. I have a freaking bike that I don't use," I muttered the explanation with a voice as low as I could use. "I...at first I didn't want to say anything at all," Gakupo admitted. He walked over the far wall of the gym. I watched him get half way across, then he turned to me and gestured for me to follow him. He looked darker under the blanket of shadows. Call it anything you like, paranoia even; this made me find it harder to trust him.

He sat down by the wall and set down the backpack. Then he unzipped it and pulled out a dark red laptop. "Don't tell anyone. I borrowed this from the main office and I might get in trouble. So, I was still kind of upset and as you know, wasn't talking to you for a while. Sometimes the people in the office get a little lazy with their work. So they ask a few of the students to do things for extra credit or candy." He grumbled under his breath and the story was interrupted for a little.

"Anyway, they wanted me to sort out the files they had on the students here. I don't know how they knew to trust me. But I was skimming through names when I found Hatsune Miku's file. And this is the information under her name." Gakupo tapped some keys and turned the laptop to me. I looked at the screen.

"BPD? So what?" I was a bit irritated that Gakupo might show me this for nothing. There was nothing left to say about who and what Miku was.

"That's not it, you dumb blond," he said. "THIS is what I needed you to see."

He scrolled down and revealed all the secret information that the school probably shouldn't know.

**Patient: Hatsune Miku**

**Number: 01**

**Condition(s): Borderline Personality Disorder; Schizophrenia; Paranoia**

**All signs of condition: Patient does not trust others, shows signs of hostility towards next of kin. Sleeps very often. Patient experiences black outs that lead to horrifying visual and auditory illusions, usually consisting of a grotesque monster in a white lab coat. Medication does not work until highest possible dosage is given. Patient shows no signs of emotion. Delusional and sees a ghostly child running around and speaking to her. Patient refuses to identify the child. Thinks abstractly in a situation and is easily tired. **

**Treatment: Sees Psychiatrist Dell Honne on a weekly basis, takes medication for her hallucinations; recently took comfort in a fellow high school student.**

I froze. I read the last line again. Then again. And finally once more. How did they have that information? Did Miku tell them?

I couldn't just keep the question in my mind. "How...do they know about..." Gakupo flinched and looked up, startled by my voice. "...Miku and I..." "EHH?" Gakupo tossed the laptop aside and leapt to his feet. "I thought 'comfort' was code for something else," he said softly. That last reaction was odd, given how he flipped the laptop over.

"Something else?That's not true, you know."

"Yes. I thought you two were...I still know where the depth of your love lies." He wiggled his eye brow. "Shut up," I muttered. He nodded, but still snickered.

"I'm confused as to why the school has that information, though," I admitted, staring curiously at the red laptop still on the floor. "They didn't own it directly, but the school kept taps with her medical records. According to her school list, there were a lot of schools that rejected her because she wasn't mentally stable. Our school is just scared of what she might do," Gakupo droned. There was the answer to one question but not all.

"I'm talking about the 'took comfort in a fellow high school student' part. How do they know that? We haven't told anyone about it before-" I stopped and looked at him expectantly.

He raised his hands in the air. "As far as anyone is concerned, there was no one here before cheerleader practice. But there's the chance Hatsune told them - whoever 'them' stands for - that you've been like that friend who sits with her while she's crying. Except, well, Hatsune doesn't cry." He scratched the back of his head. "Where's Kaito? He borrowed my sword and I need it back before practice."

"Oh, him? He's..." I frowned. I had forgotten Kaito's location very easily. "Ah, well. Practice is in an hour. I don't need it right now. Hey, we're still friends, right?" He said. I nodded. "I'm going home. Rin's probably distracted and whatnot, so I'm in no hurry." He bent down and picked up the laptop. I could still see the glow of the screen, reflecting off of the gym floor.

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_Meanwhile, Kaito Shion is trying to cut his last popsicle in half with his best friend's sword. He needs enough for his band practice tomorrow and he's broke until the people of the subway get charitable. Did I mention he was with Rin on the highest floor of the school? And Miki? The two girls both had something important to tell him..._

Shrimpy: Hah. This is me making up for lost time with other characters in the story.


	15. Mr Saxobeat

Shrimpy: Ruko got better.

HELLO HUMANS

She's been more polite recently, so I begrudgingly ask that you don't provoke the raccoon unless it's really funny or necessary. In my eyes that's one in the same. O_O Welcome to the fandom, Ruko. Any who, I was watching Miki sing with KaitoV3 and came across Mr. Saxobeat. Since Kaito plays the sax, I'm making it worth while. I hope you enjoy it...

NOW HUMAN WRITE THAT THINGY YOU ALWAYS WRITE I'M SENSING IMPATIENCE

IN MYSELF

AND I RAN OVER MY COUSIN WITH A VAN

What?! RUKO! BAD RACCOON!

IT'S OKAY THE VAN OWNER HAS GEICO AND YOU SAVE FIFTEEN PERCENT MORE WITH GEICO

Everyone knows that. OnO

DID YOU KNOW I RAN OVER MY COUSIN THEN CRASHED INTO A GARAGE

**Len's POV**

I don't remember how long I was walking through the hall. I feel I was just pacing back and forth, still wondering where my sister and Kaito could be.

I also don't remember when I noticed the sounds of a saxophone. They cut through the air like a hot knife slicing through butter, but the noises were smooth as said butter. Call me stupid, but I believe they went on for fifteen minutes before I suspected the room next to me. I grabbed the knob and turned it. _The doorknobs here are so light_, I mused. I pushed the door in and this is what I heard:

"Makes me dance,

Brings me up,

Brings me down.

Plays it sweet, makes me move like a freak

Mr. Saxobeat!"

The voices melded together were none other than my twin sister and the distinct voice of Miki, a nice redheaded girl with a taste for cherries.

They danced around, arms linking at the last part of the verse. Kaito sat on the Teacher's desk in the back of the room.

They released each other's arms and sang together once more.

"Hey sexy boy set me free

Don't be so shy, play with me.

My dirty boy can't you see-"

And that was the last verse I could stand. I knew Rin had a passion for continuing notes longer than necessary.

I didn't even have to do anything. Miki spun around and I caught her eye. I smiled.

She stumbled backwards into Rin, who dropped back against a desk for support. "Miki! We need to practice again!" She scolded. Miki whipped around. "L-L-Len - he-" Rin turned to tell her again, and what she did was see who Miki was talking about. Me.

"L-Len! We were just...we were just..." She stuttered.

"Oh, that is SO unfair, Rin. It would have been fun if I was here to see the whole thing."

She blinked. Why was it a surprise? At our old school, she signed up for every talent show. I watched and helped her practice, even signed up with her once. If I may show a flash back, I'll let you see how it got me in trouble and prevented me from doing so ever again.

_"Is this him?" Squealed the high school girl. I cocked my head. "Excuse me, but by him so you mean..." She giggled. "Girls, look! It's the cute boy from my little sister's talent show!" Suddenly a bunch of high school girls were walking to us. I remember strangers hugging me and pinching my cheeks the way it TRAUMATIZES LITTLE CHILDREN_**_. _**_Do I really need to say that? Strangers should NOT do that to a child. No._

_"Rin! Riiiiiiin!" I called. "What, 'nii-chan?" She shuffled over. With her big green eyes, big white bow and tiny build, Rin looked innocent and loveable. Which she wasn't._

_"Riiiin! Make them stop!" I figured since she was a girl, too, she could see eye level with them._

_"Awwww! His twin sister! She's just as adorable!" Then Rin was warmly welcomed with pats and hugs and I saw someone pick her up and__ whirl her around. "Wheeeee!" She giggled, stretching out her arms. I scrambled my way out of the huddle, but they were too busy playing with Rin to notice my escape._

This experience has a hand in the fact I don't like to get much attention. I repeat, DON'T TRAUMATIZE LITTLE CHILDREN.

"Kay, Len," She muttered. She nodded at Miki. Catching the small sign, Kaito was playing the saxophone.

The thing about saxophones is that I have no idea how they work or if I can understand then. Maybe the thing about it is that exactly. I don't know them at all.

Kaito hadn't been paying for very long - maybe seven notes - before there was a small whimper at the door.

We all turned and Miku sleepily rubbed her eyes. "Why...Why is there a saxophone..." Her eyes were only half open and she leaned against the wall for support. "Miku-chan, were you taking a nap? School is no place for naps!" Rin walked over to Miku, who looked up with a lost expression. "School's boring though," Miku muttered. "It's an awful place for anyone..." "Still! Somebody should probably take her home," Rin said, glancing at me with new motivation in her green eyes.

Miku's eyes snapped wide open. "No!" I could hear, through the thick calmness in her usual voice, the evident panic. Rin put her hands on Miku's shoulders. "Miku, why don't you want to go home?" Rin demanded. Miku shook her head feverishly. "I'm fine. I don't need to go home, and I planned to talk to a teacher later today. It can't wait."

She lightly tugged Rin's wrists until she had pried her hands off. "I'm okay, there was just a nightmare," she lied.

Rin nodded, a slight smile on her lips. "Good. Because if this happens one more time, you really need to go home!" The smile widened, and she added, "Would you like me to come with you?"

Miku shook her head. "I'm afraid my problems will get mixed with yours. I'm just not doing very well in...acting. I need a conference." Rin's smile faded. "Okay," she said cautiously before turning back to Miki. "Kaito, start from the beginning."

Miku almost drifted out of the door. How was it that I knew she was lying but Rin was barely bothered? I didn't know Miku. I barely knew her. I liked her, yes, but still.

She pulled the door behind her but I snatched the knob before it closed. I opened it gingerly.

Miku was faster than a marathon runner. There was no sign of her in the hallway, but I knew she had gone down the left hall. It was where the closest staircase and that piano room was.

Once out far enough, I heard running and someone slamming a door. No doubt Rin and her small group didn't hear. I followed the loud noise purely on memory. As I thought, it led to the piano room.

I peered in. Miku was there. She was sitting on the piano bench, staring miserably at the piano keys. I pushed the door in and walked over all as quietly as possible.

Before I'm criticized, let me just say this was what I would do for Rin when she was upset. I thought it would work at the time. I can't say it didn't, but...

I leaned closed to her ear. I was close enough that I could smell her. She smelled sweet and crisp, like peppermint. "Boo."

She stiffened, then all at once she turned around and tackled me to the floor. The jocks would have been so proud, except her weight was just enough to suppress the air in my lungs.

"You idiot!" She snapped. "Don't you realize I could've hurt you?!"

"Don't know, cutting off air," I choked, nudging her so she could get off. She moved, but she was still on top of me. I wonder if holding me down was some kind of punishment.

"Miku, this is really annoying," I said, frowning. I achieved the skill of frowning. Yippee.

All of the air was back in my lungs, and I could easily breath in and out. "If I didn't recognize you, I probably would've..." Her voice trailed off and the anger in her eyes faded to despair. I was moved by the flickering emotions that had surfaced on thisnormally straight-faced girl. If you could see how pretty she really was you would understand it was hard not to feel bad about it. Of course, the rest of the school had that down.

"Please get off of me Miku."

She slid off and I sat up immediately. There's no time to be embarrassed anymore. _It's just the way Miku is_, I thought, and I looked up at her. The look on her face is heartbreaking. You'd never believe it, but she seemed so..._sad_, like she was moving away from her best friend. And I knew that feeling pretty damn well.

"Why?" I let that one word escape, and I bit my tongue before "did you straight up lie and get away with it" could follow. She glanced up with depressingly dark teal eyes. Amazingly, they could still sparkle like a flawless diamond. "Rin is so nice..." She cocked her head. "Why is she so nice?" She asked with a soft, delicate voice, like she was talking to a child. "Rin is nice to people she likes. People she thinks are worth the effort," I answered carefully. Why did it feel like Miku was going to fall to pieces if I said something otherwise?

"I don't _want_ anyone to worry about my problems!" She cried suddenly. "It shouldn't matter to her, or to Kamui or Ruko or Megurine or _you_ what's been happening to me! And you try to worry, you try to get close-" she cut herself off. I realized her shallow breathing.

"Just...just stay away from me, okay? Keep Rin away from me, too, because she's so nice..."

"You know what, Miku? It shouldn't matter to me. I shouldn't be concerning myself with you.I shouldn't be doing stupid things for you," I responded. "But I do all of that. It's not because I'm trying to worry about you. I just _do._ I can't help but care because you need it."

"I don't need help," she snapped. She rose to her feet and strode to the door.

"That's an outright Goddamn lie and you know it," I retorted.

She was silent for a good moment, then her hands slipped off the door and she dropped to her knees. "How can you even tell?" She whispered, her voice becoming small, shaky.

"...How? I thought it was pretty obvious. You overextended your lying ability. Which is really bad. You're a really bad liar in the first place," I laughed.

"I hate you."

"I _like_ you. Plus I know that's a lie."

"I hate you, I mean it!"

"You can't get any better, Miku," I say, grinning.

"And I...I h-hate how you smile all the time, Dammit!" She said as she gave a nervous glance.

"Wow, that was the worst one yet," I muttered, cracking up with laughter. She pouted and folded her arms. "I'm sorry. I'll stop teasing you."

"I really don't like you," she said, staring me straight in the eye. I pressed my lips together. She understood. This was strange.

"Go ahead, use that lie-detecting quirk. I'm not lying." I sighed. She wasn't lying. But that meant she either disliked me, or...you know, the opposite of hatred.

"You're not lying," I decided to say, "but you're not telling the truth. Just...let's just leave. I didn't say anything, so Rin might be looking right about now." I prayed in my mind that she'd bought the excuse. In hindsight I'm not the world's greatest liar, either, but I have to be good _enough_ if I can lie to Rin's face about the location of her precious oranges.

Her brilliant teal eyes scanned the window - the small one too high up to cast direct light in the room. It was letting in a cool afternoon wisp of wind. Not that it did anything to lift the settled dust or blow away the musty smell. It was a real wonder why Miku liked to be alone up there. After all, it was dim and small. Not ideal for a...person like her.

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Shrimpy: Tell me the mistake count was lower this time! OaO

WOW HUMAN

HOW MANY PATHETIC LETTER FACES CAN YOU MAKE

Shut up. I like them.

HERE LET ME SHOW YOU OTHER HUMANS HER BAD HABIT

OuO OnO O_O OcO OaO O~O O-O

That's enough! Wow, you're rude! And I thought you were burying your cousin.

I WAS BUT I GOT BORED SO I LEFT HIM OUTSIDE

What? RUKO! OnO

IF YOU THINK THAT'S BAD IT'S NOT

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE WILL BE BACK IN ORDER AND YOUR DOG WILL EAT HIM

Blech. Well, you guys don't have to sit around. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading, until next time! OuO YEAH BYE HUMANS


	16. I Could Have Sworn

Shrimpy: I feel like I've been dead for a week. I'm so sorry, I didn't update on the usual date!

YOU'RE DEAD TO ME

I know. But it was an accident which is why I'm going to ignore you and continue with our JOB in this thingy. I realize since this is supposed to be a disclaimer I'm supposed to be disclaiming things.

I do not own the following things:

Ffnet

The term "screw you"

Bananas

Vocaloid

Ruko Raccoon

Ruko Yokune

Okay, here's the story you came for. OuO

** Miku's POV**

Siitting is something I've done my entire life. I sit because standing is overrated.

So sitting was exactly what I was doing when I was teaching Rin how to say things in German.

After going to Germany so many times it came in handy to know some German. While this is a completely normal thing to me, Rin is absolutely fascinated by the language.

"Sie können es leicht erlernen," I explained without difficulty. She gaped at me. "You're great," she praised.

"I can't even say hello in German," she sighed. "Then repeat after me: hallo, schön dich zu sehen," I instructed.

She made an amusing face as she stuttered through repetition. I'm enjoying my time.

"Hallow, something something something en. Did I get close?" She asked, her green eyes showing deep concentration. "If one mispronounced word counts as close, then yes, you are spot on," I replied. She muttered something under her breath.

"Miku-chan, can we take a break? German is hard," she said with a loud, exaggerated sigh. I shrug my shoulders. She grabbed the blue water bottle from the table and gulped it down.

Suddenly there's a loud buzzing. I felt vibrations coming from my shirt pocket. I yelped in surprise. What could do that? What could Buzz so loudly?

"Your phone," Rin said as though having read my mind. She can't, though. I understand that.

I reached into my pocket and pulled it out. The vibrations are startling.

I see the name Neru-chan blinking in the corner of the screen. How do I reply? Hmm. I haven't touched the phone in a little while.

"Tap it," Rin suggested, guiding me with a soft, patient voice. I followed that and lifted the phone to my ear.

"...Hello?"

"Miku-chan."

"Yes, Neru?"

"There is a party going on this Saturday."

"Yes. Lovely. Have you told Rin yet?"

"Not yet, Miku-chan. I'm wondering if you would like to go too."

"I'm not interested," I said, gripping the phone a little tighter. "But thank you."

"You're welcome. Okay, bye-bye, Miku-chan!" The conversation ended just like that and I shut my phone off. Suddenly Rin's ringtone plays off in the air. Neru certainly was one for a phone call, of course.

"'Ello? Neru-chan! Really...no. My brother would kill me...eh?! I have to go, then! Oh...uh huh...no, why? Yes, Miku-chan should totally come! It's a great excuse to make her look nice! What? Why not...yeah, I get...okay. Later, Neru-chan!" She shut off the phone. She turns to me with an inquisitive, firm expression.

"Miku-chan, what's the date?"

"September twenty-sixth," I replied. "Why?"

"So do you have anything planned three days from now?" She demanded. Her light green eyes are lit up with a bright passion, and they almost seem to resemble the color of olives. I find this a pretty color for a girl...

"Rin, I really don't have anything planned. Ever." My response was firm. And yet, why am I trembling?

"Forgive me, Miku-chan. It's just...are you scared of interacting with others?" She furrows her brow, and the tenderness in her voice gives her a maternal air. She leaned forward just a little.

I gulped, hoping she didn't hear. "I'm not afraid of people. That's a sad thing to think, Rin. I was convinced I didn't seem like that, but I guess I was wrong, wasn't I? In fact, when am I ever right or _good_ about anything?" She jumped. "I-I'm sorry...Miku-chan! I didn't mean..."

I took in a small breath. Did I really just do that? Have I not learned anything at all? I've hurt her, for Christ's sake!

_"Let her play with the other children? Are you insane?! Have you any idea of what this child is capable of?"_

_"Piss off, psycho! We don't want to play with someone who throws a soccer ball!"_

_"My mom said I'm not allowed to be friends with you..."_

_"She pushed me! She pushed me, Sensei!"_

They were right. Every single one of them was right. How could a beast, blind to human courtesy, _ever _be released into society?

I am so inconsiderate.

I wanted to voice that to Rin, who looked frightened and fragile next to me.

But I can't.

"I have to go. Goodbye Rin." I stood up. Why can't I say something as simple as "I'm sorry" when this girl deserves it most?

"Mm...bye, Miku-chan..." She still looks very uncomfortable. _Say something. Say anything. Say something to calm her, it's the least you can do._

I look back at her for a second and open my mouth. For a second those green eyes are red, and her blond hair is unruly and silvery white.

I'm afraid again. Why was it that I could never get anywhere with friends? Can't anyone answer me? I was shivering and instincts forced me to run out of the room as fast as possible.

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**Len's POV**

"Then the guy cut in FRONT of me. I wish I'd hit him over the head. He was so inconsiderate I could have-"

"Kaito, that story is lovely and all, but I really need to find Rin," I said. I glanced at the end is the hall. I was desperate to run out the door and find Rin, most likely deep in conversation with her friends.

Luka nodded, standing next to me. "Yeah, that story is interesting, but my brother needs me," she added, shaking the phone in her hand. She patted me on the cheek and walked away.

"Huh?" Kaito's eyes almost seemed unfocused. "I had no idea Luka had a brother," he supplied, though I could tell he had no idea what I was going to ask. "I could have sworn...never mind. Luka's a weird chick. What was with that, anyway?" He asked, gesturing to me.

"I have absolutely no idea," I replied. I put a hand where she'd patted me.

"He was so inconsiderate-" "Bye, Kaito! See you tomorrow!"

I ran for the door and narrowly escaped a collision with an approaching student. I took a turn and practically stepped on a girl with bright red eyes.

"Ah, Sukone-san! I want to apologize for scaring you the first time we met. I'm Kagamine Len, and I believe we..." the girl before me shook her head. "I know who you are! But we've never spoken or _met_ before," she corrected. She clutched a black bag in her hands. When I looked down at the bag, I'll admit I was just a little suspicious. She reddened and pulled it behind her.

"I saw you in the hall, just a couple of weeks ago," I added. "I bumped into you, then you screamed and ran away. Didn't you?"

"No!" She cried. "I wasn't around a couple of weeks ago, I had the flu!" The panic in her voice caused me to jump. "I'm sorry, Sukone-san, I thought it was you." She shook her head again. Then she spun around and dodged an incoming Rion on a bike.

"Kyaaaaaaaa!" The bicycle came sliding to a halt and she flew off the seat. Before I realized she was about to crash into me, she was already too close. Then someone pulled me out of the way.

"Gotcha." Neru's voice was the first thing I heard. The purple haired girl was cradled in Neru's arms. I realized the presence of Rin who had an iron grip on my jacket. I turned to look at her correctly, but she was avoiding my gaze. She was...God, did I look at her right? Her eyes seemed darker than usual.

"Rin-" "GODDAMMIT, TONE! WHY CAN'T YOU EVER WATCH WHERE YOUR SHIT DRIVING SKILLS TAKE YOU?" Neru snapped, dropping the poor girl the floor. Rion hit the ground with an "oomph!"

"Tone-san! Are you alright?!" I asked first thing. Rion quickly wiped away tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," she muttered. I offered my hand and she pushed herself of the ground. She wandered back to her bike, a grimace on her face.

"Neru, that was so rude of you! How could you say something like that?" I turned to Neru, who sharply turned her head. "Why would you care? Why would ANYONE care? YOU'RE SAYING BULLSHIT DIRECTLY TO ME!" She snapped. "Trust me, I get that a lot. Why are you in such a bad mood, both of you?" I asked, holding fast to my patience.

Then all the anger in Neru's fierce yellow eyes scared me. She really, truly was scary. "I told you before, Neru isn't exactly the cheery type," Rin's voice said. She sounded dead and tired. But then, with Rin's usual voice being light and musical, like the perky teenage girl she was, this told me something was wrong.

Something was really wrong.

"Shut the hell up, Rin. I'm going home." Neru shoved past me to the usually crowded hall that was a little more spacious this hour.

"Rin, can you summarize..."

"I offended Miku-chan this morning. It was an accident, but she must have really taken it to heart because she messaged the two of us..." Rin sniffed and pulled her phone from her pocket. The screen practically glowed in my face with the message:

**The two of you should really fuck off. I can't stand you anymore, you dumbass goody two shoes! I don't want to interact, okay? Stop trying. STOP. I may not be your ideal friend, but I can't change for you. I can't change. You look at me like you can help me, but I know there's no way I can be helped. Yes, I'm afraid of people. Yes, I hate them. Go bother somebody else. I don't need either of you, do you understand?**

** Love,**

** Miku-chan **

I blinked. This was not the first time someone had shared troubling electronic information with me, and yet it made me want to...

Rin wiped away tears. I wondered whether or not she was wearing mascara. The message she showed...

...made me want to laugh.

I couldn't hold it in anymore, finally. I burst into laughter. "_This _made you cry?" I snickered. She looked up with the glare of a demon. "What convinced you that Miku wrote this? She doesn't call herself 'Miku-chan', that's something only you and Neru ever do. Plus, her language isn't that...color," I settled, calming from my laughter.

"You mean...Miku-chan didn't write that?" She asked, lifting her head. Hope lightened her mechanical tone. "I'm one hundred percent positive Miku would have a harder time voicing hatred to you. She likes you. She thinks you're nice." I couldn't help a grin.

Maybe Miku couldn't put her true feelings to words, but I didn't mind doing it for her. The smile on my twin's face was priceless.

"I'm finding Miku-chan and seeing who really wrote that mean text!" Rin declared. She straightened. The waterworks of her sadness had magically turned off.

She marched forward, while I followed for no particular reason. She stood proud and tall when she passed by people. However, when I asked her if she knew where to look, she replied, "Not really! But I have reason to believe she'll be hanging around on the upper levels, perhaps the west wing. Anywhere quiet, right?"

"I'm impressed," I admitted, blinking. She grinned. "You're not the only one with good intuition," she said proudly. "Sometimes it very much seems so," I retorted, patting her head.

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** Miku's POV**

Woke up. Stared. Closed my eyes again. Suppressed a sob. Fell asleep.

Woke up. Stared. Closed my eyes again. Suppressed a sob. Stayed awake.

My sharp tongue. My fears. My insecurity. My inability to trust others.

My fear that everyone I even remotely cared about would disappear...

My fear that Len wouldn't come for me.

I can't understand. Can't. Why did does he even care? Why...

When my surroundings are painted black, I don't even fight it. I'm enveloped in pure terror.

Could can I ever apologize?

"Miku-chan is sleeping," sang an angelic voice. I looked look up at Haku. Looming behind her is the monster that growls at me. The White Coat. The thing.

"Time to play a game," she said says, putting a finger to her lips.

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Shrimpy: First things first. It doesn't matter if there are people around you or if I can see you or not. Raise your hand if this chapter made you say "Oh, shit."

Aha! See, Ruko? I was right!

SHUT UP

I'M MAKING A PICTURE

Speaking of a vulgar and accident prone raccoon, a lot of what Neru said in the chapter was directly quoted from Ruko.

SHRIMPY HUMAN LOOK I MADE A PICTURE OF GEORGE CLOONEY

BE PROUD OF ME SHRIMPY

Umm, no. I am not proud of that.

ASSHAT

I'M GOING TO GET KIBBLE I'M HUNGRY

You do that. Next I would like to thank readers for bearing with all the mistakes I make. Ruko edited some of the first few chapters, so I'm going to release those "slightly better" chapters in due time. And finally, I'm apologizing for the mistakes in this chapter. It was a little rushed, because I didn't want to miss update day like I did last time...I'm sorry about that too. Bye! OuO


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